Launching a paper on the death penalty, the chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, Bishop Christopher Saunders, stressed the importance of the paper in dealing with the death penalty since some of the Bali 9 is facing this daunting prospect.
Bishop Saunders articulated that people should oppose to the death penalty because every person, regardless of their citizenship, shared a fundamental right – the right to life.
"Our opposition to capital punishment cannot end at our national borders. The dignity and sanctity of all human life must be respected in all circumstances. Every person, whatever their citizenship shares the most fundamental right – the right to life," Bishop Saunders said.
In Bishop Saunders concluding remark, he urged the Federal Government to work energetically with our neighbours to abolish the death penalty.
The inconsistency displayed by both the previous Coalition and current Federal Labor government was evident in their defence of selected convicted criminals when they were facing the death penalty compared to others.
For example, both the Coalition and the Labor parties were unequivocal in pleading with the Singapore government to spare the life of drug trafficker Van Nguyen from execution while taking the opposite approach to the execution of the Bali bombers.