Australia bans death penalty and appeals to Indonesia to spare Bali nine

This article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald 11 March 2010

A Liberal senator has used the permanent abolition of the death penalty in Australia to call for Indonesia to spare the lives of members of the Bali nine, saying the use of capital punishment is not reflective of a civilised society.

The Federal Parliament today passed laws that ensure the death penalty can never be reintroduced by any state or territory in Australia.

Both sides of politics supported the move, which is seen as largely symbolic.

But ACT Liberal senator Gary Humphries used the development to call on the Indonesian government to waive the application of the death penalty in the case of the Bali nine.