New hope for Bali boy as rivals Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard fight phoney war

Bali drug arrest

The 14-year-old boy arrested in Bali for alleged possession of a small quantity of marijuana. Picture: Supplied
Source: HWT Image Library





THE 14-year-old NSW boy arrested for drug possession in Bali looks likely to face trial – but may escape a jail sentence.


New hope for an early release came as Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday came under fire for potentially inflaming a delicate diplomatic situation by revealing she spoke to the boy by phone while he sat in a Bali jail cell, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Head of the Indonesian drug squad, Mulyad, said he would recommend the Lake Macquarie schoolboy be charged under article 128 of Indonesian law, which states the minor will not be sentenced to a jail term. He admitted a judge could still ignore the recommendation.

“Article 128 is the appropriate because he is a minor and a user,” the officer said.

But a former Australian ambassador to Indonesia said Ms Gillard’s foray could aggravate Indonesian authorities:

“Generally Indonesia resents public activities designed to put pressure on them for domestic political reasons in Australia. Much more progress is likely to be achieved by private discussion,” said the former ambassador, who asked not to be named.

Ms Gillard and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd appeared locked in a desperate struggle for the political spotlight yesterday over the boy’s plight.

With leadership tension between the two mounting, Ms Gillard’s office took the surprising step of revealing she had spoken to the Morisset High School student on Sunday by phone. The current Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty, was with the boy at the time.

Mr Moriarty handed the phone over to the boy for a brief chat, the PM’s office said.

“She just had a chance to make sure he knew the Australian government was doing everything we could to help him,” a spokesman said.

Mr Rudd has led the campaign to secure the boy’s release since he was arrested for allegedly buying marijuana.

While Mr Rudd has spoken to the boy’s father, he had not spoken directly to the boy.

He has also made repeated public statements that he “would do everything to get the little bloke home”.

Indonesian authorities said they believed the Australian government was trying to interfere in the legal processes, angering key police officials.

The opposition yesterday condemned the government’s handling of the situation.

“It’s unseemly to watch the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister competing over issues as serious as the young boy in Bali,” Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said.

With her hold on the top job under an increasingly dark cloud, Ms Gillard now faces a make-or-break week, with two key pieces of legislation to be voted on in parliament.

While the PM is likely to score a political victory with the passage of the controversial carbon tax through the lower house tomorrow, defeat looms as the government tries to change the Migration Act to revive its Malaysia asylum seeker solution the next day.

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