The Abbott government's boat turn-back policy has helped break Australia's relationship with Indonesia and contributed to Jakarta's refusal to consider death penalty reform, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says.
Echoing comments from Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs, Senator Hanson-Young has linked Australia's asylum-seeker policy to Indonesia's unwillingness to negotiate on prisoner executions.
"From spying on the wife of the president to boat turn-backs, to cutting down foreign aid, we don't have a very positive relationship with Indonesia and I think we've got to be honest about what that means," Senator Hanson-Young told reporters in Sydney.
Senator Hanson-Young said it was "sad" Australia's relationship with its nearest neighbour had deteriorated.
"We should be doing everything we can to work constructively with them, to overcome human rights issues in the region, to deal with the issue of asylum-seekers, and of course, to encourage them to drop the death penalty," she said.
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