Channel 9 Today Show, Parliament House - interview with Karl Stefanovic

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KARL STEFANOVIC Finally just into your portfolio now, if we can move on? How much time does Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have left do you think?

JULIE BISHOP I have been working very hard on this matter, in fact I spoke to the families last night. They are with our consular staff, our Ambassador in Indonesia. I know they are on their way home now but you just put yourself in the shoes of those families and they are absolutely devastated at the prospect of their loved ones being on death row.

The challenge, of course, is that drug trafficking is an offence in Indonesia that carries with it the death penalty in many instances. So it is a sovereign nation with its own judicial system. We are doing all we can behind the scenes. We are making representations privately and publicly to stay the execution and we will not give up. We are continuing to do that on a daily basis. I speak to their Foreign Minister, we have other senior officials making representations at very senior levels. The Prime Minister has been making representations to the Indonesian President. So we will continue to do what we can to ensure a stay and we will continue to ask for clemency for both of them.

They have made an extraordinary advance in their rehabilitation in prison. In fact, the Indonesian prison system has proven what other prison systems around the world would long to prove and that is you can rehabilitate those who have lost their way through drug offences and being involved in the drug trade. So we hope and pray that we will be able to stay an execution.

KARL STEFANOVIC Julie, always good to talk to you. Thanks for your time this morning, busy morning.

JULIE BISHOP Thank you.