By BEN CAMERON
THE Federal Government was elected on the back of one of its key promises to “stop the boats”, but Federal Member for La Trobe Jason Woods admits its border protection policies have played heavily on his mind since. He talks to BEN CAMERON about children in detention, David Hicks and his change of mind on the death penalty.
BEN: You lost your seat in 2010 and your wife had a baby last year, are you still motivated as ever to run at the next election?
JASON: Definitely. I have my application form ready to go. We’ve had a little baby. So it’s tough going up to Canberra. You want to spend as much time with them as you can while they’re growing up.
BEN: What is the best part about being a politician?
JASON: You have the community coming to you with great ideas and passion. A classic example would be Insight Vision. That was the highlight of my (election) campaign, seeing the dream come forward.
BEN: What else is driving you ahead of the next election?
JASON: There is unfinished business with counter terrorism, we really need to strengthen our laws.
BEN: Were you disappointed with the US military court decision to set aside terrorism charges against David Hicks ?
JASON: I’d have to have a look at the findings. I think he was saying he went overseas for a holiday, but did he go to these training camps? I’ll let Australians make their own opinions if that’s a good idea. If the courts have made that decision, they’ve made that decision, I haven’t reviewed it. I haven’t seen the decision.
BEN: How did you feel personally though when the decision came through?
JASON: My view was always at the time … it had to go through the legal process. If the legal process says the position has changed, the position’s changed. Was I surprised by the decision? Well it depends on the evidence before the commission.
BEN: There was a leadership spill for Tony Abbott’s position recently, which way did you vote?
JASON: I didn’t disclose the way I voted, it’s a secret vote and that’s the way I’ll keep it. When you start talking about things like that it gets people excited either way in the electorate. One thing I did pass onto the Prime Minister, and there were a few issues, the public’s voice wasn’t being heard. Rather than forcing things onto the public, I don’t think the message was being explained that well. To me the communication wasn’t very good at all. I think you always need to respect the community’s views. That’s a key part of this. I had a lot of people contacting me.
BEN: What were they saying?
JASON: In the final days it was 50/50, prior to that there was a lot of people unhappy out there.
BEN: Member for McMillan Russell Broadbent has been outspoken on the rights of refugees, how have you viewed your government’s stance on border protection?
JASON: I have no issues with border protection, I think the government has made the right decision. Nobody wants to see anybody drown at sea. But nobody wants to see anybody in detention, especially children. I’m a big supporter for getting children out of detention centres. But at the same time too though, if we weren’t being seen as being tough on border protection more people would be risking their lives coming to Australia. It does play a lot on your mind, ‘is this the right way to go?’
BEN: Do you think the means justify the ends to a certain degree?
JASON: Number one, less people are drowning at sea, that’s a positive. Number two, there are less children in detention centres, it’s reduced by 90 per cent. Number three, there are now more people coming into Australia under humanitarian programs. When I go to community functions with many ethnic groups, they have somebody, a family member, waiting to come, in line. But I also understand if somebody’s in an awful, awful situation, would they be trying to get out? Of course. I’ve always been a big supporter of foreign aid. We need to make the country of origin safer, therefore they’re more likely to stay.
BEN: In terms of foreign aid, do you think that provides our government a bargaining chip when it comes to releasing the drug runners in Bali, as Tony Abbott seemed to indicate?
JASON: Our government’s doing a lot. Some constituents have contacted me asking what the government is doing, but you find a lot of these issues are resolved through quiet conversations and diplomacy.
BEN: Do you have a personal view though?
JASON: As a former police officer, I supported the death penalty, but my position has now changed. Especially in this case. If they brought drugs into this country, they would have created major, major harm. But the whole purpose of any jail, if it’s possible, is rehabilitation. We’ve probably only had a couple of people contacting me supporting the death penalty. The other 100 or 200 or even more, we’ve been bombarded, (saying the government) should do everything (to get them off).
BEN: What changed your mind though?
JASON: A number of cases of people who have been executed and were subsequently found innocent. Jail is a pretty tough place to be. The man (Van Tuon Nguyen) in Hong Kong that was executed, that changed my view then. That made me think of it more from the family’s perspective. The problem is this, where Indonesia has got themselves into a bit of pickle, they made a very strong stance if any Indonesians are caught in places like Dubai and facing drug trafficking (charges) they would supply all legal representation to help them out, and yet in Indonesia if you’re caught over there, you get executed.
