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March 11, 2004

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The Farce Continues

The ongoing farce over the extradition of two wanted men from Australia to Hong Kong continues. From Australian Foreign Minister Downer two days ago came this:

Journalist: Mr Downer are you concerned at the damage that may be done to the relationship with Hong Kong by the Justice Minister’s refusal to surrender two Australian fugitives?

Downer: Well it hasn’t been raised directly with me by anyone in Hong Kong. Though there have been discussions at the officials level about this. The details of it you’ll have to put to the Justice Minister, because he’s the one who’s made the decision, not me.

Journalist: You’re responsible for diplomatic relations.

Downer: Yes, sure. In the case of Hong Kong I haven’t had ministerial level representations from the Hong Kong Government about it in recent times. And there has been officials level discussion. I would say it’s an issue that there has been officials level discussion about. But it’s not an issue that’s damaged our relations with Hong Kong. It’s a big relationship.

Journalist: Senator Ellison has refused to give reasons for surrendering these two men. Should he?

Downer: Well look that’s entirely a matter for him. I won’t offer a view about that. That’s something you’ll have to take up with him. This is an area that falls within his portfolio, and within his area of responsibility. And I’ll leave it to him to answer questions.

Journalist: We have an agreement with Hong Kong. What’s the value of that is it’s …

Downer: We do have an agreement, but where extradition takes place there has to be mutual agreement on that extradition.

Journalist: …explaining to Hong Kong the reasons for refusing to surrender these men?

Downer: As I say there have been discussions with the Hong Kong Government about it.

Nice pass, Alexander. So in the Senate yesterday the question was asked of the relevant Minister. He was asked if he was lobbied to prevent the extradition of these two men.
I received written submissions which touched on matters relevant to the exercise of my discretion. As I recall, they were directly from Mr Hendy; Mr Voigt; members of their families, including their children; friends; solicitors acting for them; and two members of parliament.
The Minister is then asked if he is aware that Emily Lau, a HK LegCo member, stated "I think some people in HK are hopping made, and they think Australia is being uncooperative, and without giving reasons," and this incident has damaged the law enforcement relationship between the two countries. His lame reply:
I am aware of Ms Lau's comments. She is entitled to those as a member of the Hong Kong parliament. We have assured the government of Hong Kong of our commitment to work closely with them in law enforcement matters, and they have echoed that commitment. It is business as usual. We continue to work closely with the Hong Kong government in relation to law enforcement matters, as they do with us, and we value that cooperation.
The implications are clear - if you've got mates in the right places, you can get away with anything. Having an MP or two helping is nice. Lest you think this is all over nothing, every other person involved in this short piling scandal in HK has been convicted of the charges they faced. There is a strong chance of conviction. Hong Kong has a recognised legal and court system the maintains high standards. There is no possible excuse for the case against extradition. But we'll never know because this is where the matter ends.

The Minister might not think so but this has caused enormous damage to the relationship between HK and Australia.

 posted by Simon on 03.11.04 at 08:35 AM in the




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