Vigils were held in Melbourne and Sydney for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran on January 29. The two are facing the death penalty after having been convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia.
Chris Peterson gave this speech to the Melbourne vigil.
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I would like to thank everyone who came out on this cold windy night. We are continuing a movement. We no longer have the death penalty in Australia because people came out on cold evenings for justice.
In Michael Hyde's autobiography All Along the Watchtower, he tells the story of Ronald Ryan, the last person to be legally executed in Australia. As it took place, people gathered outside Pentridge prison in the bitter cold. It helped end this barbaric practice.
Australia does not have the death penalty so why did the Australian federal police dob these young men in when they knew the death penalty was a possibility?
Aboriginal resistance fighters Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener were the first two people executed in Victoria. Today, the government knows their deaths were a crime: it is why they refuse to build a memorial to remember these brave men.
People should not be murdered for things they did when they were young and stupid. But equally, drug addiction should be treated as a health issue, not a criminal justice issue.
Drugs should not be criminalised. The money spent on prisons in the war on drugs would be better spent on schools, hospitals, cultural development and inclusion. The Australian government needs to bring these young men home to have a second chance.
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