Julie Bishop - Member for Curtin

6PR. Afternoons with Jane Marwick

Subjects: Detention of Australian lawyer in Libya; Christian Porter

E&OE…

JANE MARWICK    Well you may have caught up with the news that there is an Australian lawyer by the name of Melinda Taylor who has been detained in Libya. She is one of four delegates for the International Criminal Court and she was one of the delegation who was visiting Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam and it is seems to be extremely unclear as to where she is. Foreign Minister Bob Carr has come out and said she is safe, we’ve heard she is in prison.

To get an update on this we are crossing to Julie Bishop, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minster for Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister for Trade. Good afternoon, thanks for joining us Julie.

JULIE BISHOP    Good afternoon Jane.

JANE MARWICK    Julie any updates on Melinda Taylor’s predicament?

JULIE BISHOP    I have been in contact with Senator Carr’s office and the situation is still rather complex. The national authorities in Libya are not necessarily aligned with what is happening at a regional level in Libya. We do know that Melinda Taylor is safe. She is being held in what they call preventative detention. Now I am not sure what that means in legal terms because it is not a phrase that we would use, but it means that she is not in jail. We understand she is safe and well.

Melinda and her delegation were in Libya with the express agreement of the Libyan government. It had been agreed there would be contact between International Criminal Court lawyers and Saif Gaddafi, that is the son of Colonel Gaddafi, who is being investigated for possible crimes and that Melinda and the lawyers were part of an International Criminal Court defence team for Gaddafi and that they would have privileged contact with him, you know like the legal professional privilege that exists between clients and their lawyers, and this would cover their communications -  between Melinda Taylor and the legal team and Gaddafi. And according to the President of the International Criminal Court the lawyers were also to be accorded a form of diplomatic immunity.

So Libya does have legal obligations to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, allow the courts lawyers to do their work as defence lawyers, and it does sound as if there has been a breach of their obligation regarding privileged communications between Gaddafi and the legal team. And as the lawyers can claim immunity there appears to be no justification for detaining Melinda Taylor and effectively revoking her immunity.

JANE MARWICK    Julie it does seem frightening, I know she has a child and of course her family are incredibly worried about her, when we hear from the Libyans that she is safe and in this preventative detention what proof do we have that she is safe?

JULIE BISHOP    I understand that the International Criminal Court has made contact. Australia’s Ambassador to Italy is also our Ambassador designate to Libya, David Ritchie – he is one of our most experienced diplomats – he would be on the ground in Tripoli by now. He was heading from Italy to Libya and I believe he would have landed by now, and he will be seeking to meet with Melinda Taylor as soon as possible. And I am comforted by the fact we have got one of our most senior diplomats and he will also no doubt have other consular staff with him to provide her whatever consular support she needs.

But I urge the Libya authorities to release Melinda Taylor immediately. If they do have concerns about some conduct or behaviour then they can take it up directly with the International Criminal Court. Because of course there are broader implications here beyond Melinda and her team. If Libya is to transition from a dictatorship to a democracy it must uphold the international obligations and norms of diplomatic immunity and legal privilege otherwise it will make it impossible for the international community to work with Libya through this transition.

JANE MARWICK    Yeah look and every expert who’s spoken on this, everyone who has been involved in the diplomatic community, has said that David Ritchie is a very safe pair of hands so we can only hope that he will be able to have a sensible conversation. At first of course we thought that it was opposition forces that had acted but it is in fact the government isn’t it?

JULIE BISHOP    Look I think the fact is there are some complexities between the national authorities and the regional authorities, but I am hoping that Ambassador Ritchie will make it clear that it is important for Libya to work with the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court only comes in to act where the national judicial system isn’t operating or can’t operate. So the International Criminal Court can investigate and if necessary, prosecute and try in the future, whoever is accused of the gravest crimes like war crimes and crimes against humanity. So in this case where Libya is not in the position to do so, the International Criminal Court is meant to complement the criminal justice system in that country.

And it is important that all of the accused have a fair trial. So it is important that the prosecution team and the defence team are able to operate in an environment that is conducive to a fair trial, and I am sure that is what Libya should be seeking to achieve as it does move from being a fledgling democracy to a member of the international community.

JANE MARWICK    Julie before I let you go, any comment on Christian Porter’s move from state to federal politics?

JULIE BISHOP    Well I welcome the fact that someone of Christian Porter’s calibre is seeking the opportunity to join Tony Abbott and me in our federal parliamentary team. Christian will have to go through the pre-selection process and it is a matter for the pre-selectors to judge, they must be allowed to make their decision based on the merits of each candidate.

I have known Christian for many years, he is a very bright, engaging, talented person and he has made a great contribution at a state level as Treasurer and Attorney-General so I am excited by the prospect of people of his calibre wanting to join the federal Coalition.

JANE MARWICK    Julie Bishop, I know you are pushed for time, thanks for sparing us some today.

JULIE BISHOP    Thanks Jane.

JANE MARWICK    Julie Bishop, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and of course with the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister for Trade looking at that portfolio with Melinda Taylor, the Australian lawyer who has been detained in Libya.