Now even the Federal Treasurer has spoken..
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/farewell-flight/2005/11/21/1132421604534.html?page=2
ederal Treasurer Peter Costello was also pessimistic that Nguyen
could be saved.
"Singapore is a sovereign country, Singapore makes its own laws and
carries them out," he said. "You can attempt to lobby sovereign
countries but you cannot have them overturned by world bodies, any
more than you can have the decision of an Australian court or the
Australian Government overturned by a world body."
Mr Costello said a boycott of Singapore would not influence the
outcome of Nguyen's case and was not "an appropriate response. I
don't think that is going to cause the Singaporean Government to
change its mind for a minute."
Prime Minister John Howard also ruled out using trade relations as
a lever to influence Singapore. "That is not sensible and it's not
going to serve any good purpose," he said.
Nguyen's impending execution comes as the Howard Government faces
strong lobbying by Singapore Airlines owned by the Singapore
Government for the right to fly the lucrative trans-Pacific route
from Sydney to Los Angeles.
Federal Transport Minister Warren Truss is next month expected to
receive a report from his department on the possible impact of
opening up the route to the airline. The matter will then be
decided by cabinet.
Several senior ministers including Mr Truss, Mr Costello, Mr Downer
and Trade Minister Mark Vaile are believed to be sympathetic to the
idea, believing that competition on the trans-Pacific route would
be good for consumers.
A spokesman for Opposition leader Kim Beazley said last night that
while economic and trade sanctions would not work, "the Singapore
Government has to keep in mind the depth of feeling that
Australians have about the Nguyen case".
He said that even if Singapore did not recognise the jurisdiction
of the ICJ, the Government should appeal anyway as a message "about
the extent of our seriousness".
Labor foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said there were "legal
complexities" involved but Mr Howard and Mr Downer had to do all
they could to save Nguyen, an Australian citizen. "I believe where
there is life there is hope," he said.
But an Australian-based academic who is a close observer of
Singapore politics, William Case, said Singapore would never agree
to allow the ICJ to rule on Nguyen's case.
