I want Schapelle Corby home: Shorten

The opposition leader says whatever the circumstances of Schapelle Corby's incarceration, he would like to see her back in Australia.

Schapelle Corby talks to reporters at Krobokan prison

Schapelle Corby. (AAP)

Labor leader Bill Shorten says he would like to see Schapelle Corby back in Australia "as soon as possible".

With Corby another step closer to being released from a Bali prison, Mr Shorten said he didn't want to take sides on the merits of the 36-year-old's case.

Timeline: The Schapelle Corby case

"But what I do know is that she spent a long time in an Indonesian jail," he told reporters in Brisbane.

"I would like to see that woman back in Australia as soon as possible, and that's what matters to me."

Corby has spent more than nine years behind bars for drug smuggling, but Indonesian authorities are set to consider her bid for parole in the coming days.

There are reports she could be paid millions of dollars for her first tell-all interview when she is finally released from Kerobokan Prison.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott earlier on Thursday suggested Corby should not profit by selling her story.

"The old principle is crime should not pay," he told Fairfax Radio.

Mr Shorten was more sympathetic, saying: "I'm not about to start kicking her".

"She's been locked up in an Indonesian jail for a very long time. If people think that that is somehow some clever strategy for her to get a windfall gain now, I don't think anyone else will be repeating that."


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


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