What Renae Lawrence missed when she was behind bars
For the last 14 years Renae Lawrence has been behind bars in Bali. Today, she walks into a different world. From the iPhone to a Donald Trump presidency, these are the major things she has missed.
For 14 years, Renae Lawrence has been behind bars in Bali.
Today, she walks into a different world — here is a cheat sheet of the changes.
A MERRY-GO-ROUND OF PRIME MINISTERS
When Renae was arrested in April 2005, John Howard was the prime minister of Australia. Since then we’ve had Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, then Kevin Rudd again before Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and now Scott Morrison.
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STEVE IRWIN’S DEATH
Steve Irwin, the “Crocodile Hunter”, was killed by a stingray barb that pierced his chest while he was shooting a TV program on the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast of Australia in September, 2006.
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SAME SEX MARRIAGE VOTE
Renae did not have the chance to vote in the gay marriage plebiscite that took place just over a year ago in Australia. But when she returns, she will come back to a country that has made same sex marriage legal.
THE END OF THE PLASTIC BAG
If Renae steps out to shop at her local Coles or Woolies, she won’t find a plastic bag in sight. After the debate that raged across the nation, they were also phased out.
THE SMARTPHONE AND OTHER TECH
When Renae went to jail, the smartphone hadn’t taken off in the way it has now. Apple’s founder Steve Jobs launched the iPhone in 2007. From there, Samsung and other tech companies launched their rival smartphones. Then came the iPad and other tablets we take for granted.
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SADDAM HUSSEIN’S DEATH
In October 2005 Saddam Hussein went on trial, and in 2006 he was convicted of crimes against humanity including wilful killing, illegal imprisonment, deportation, and torture. He was sentenced to death by hanging. In December 2006, Saddam was finally executed.
AMERICA’S CHOOSES TRUMP
George W. Bush was US president when Renae was caught and jailed in Bali. Since then America has had Barack Obama — and now Donald Trump.
THE GFC
The world’s global economic crisis started in July 2007 with the credit crunch, when a loss of confidence by US investors in the value of subprime mortgages caused a liquidity crisis. By September 2008, stock markets around the globe crashed and became highly volatile. Consumer confidence hit its lowest which hit the world’s economies.
SHOCKING CELEBRITY DEATHS
While Renae has been away, many famous stars have passed away. Australian actor Heath Ledger died in 2008 after a cardiac arrest at his home. The king of pop, Michael Jackson, also died at age 50 in 2009. Amy Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning in 2011. Whitney Houston later died in 2012 from drowning nd the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use”. Paul Walker from the Fast and Furious franchise died in 2013. Robin Williams died after taking his own life in 2014, as did Philip Seymour Hoffman. She also missed George Michael’s death from fatty liver disease in 2016 and Aretha Franklin who died this year from pancreatic cancer.
BREXIT
The UK voted to leave the European Union and while they’re still having teething problems with the deal which Renae will still be able to catch when she gets out.
BIEBER FEVER
She probably wouldn’t be one of his Beliebers but Renae missed seeing and hearing how the music industry changed forever after Justin Bieber arrived in 2009. Not only did she miss his music, but she missed his run-ins with the law and his recent engagement to Hailey Baldwin after joining the Hillsong Church.
ONE DIRECTION
The popular band from the UK formed in 2010 and took the world by storm, now Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik are 1D no more.
THE KARDASHIANS AND CAITLYN
Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and Kris Jenner were not on our TV screens till 2007, when Renae was two years into her sentence. She also missed with their stepfather, Bruce Jenner transitioned to become Caitlyn Jenner.
GOGGLEBOX
Renae has missed out on some of the funniest, dumbest and hilarious reality TV moments across Australia and the rest of the world. One she wouldn’t have seen is Googlebox, where TV viewers watch a cross section of TV junkies talking about the TV shows they watch.
OSAMA BIN LADEN’S DEATH
The Al-Qaeda leader was killed by US forces, which was announced by then president Barack Obama. Bin Laden is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, which Renae did live through before she went to prison.
THE OLYMPICS
Since Renae has been behind bars she’s missed three Olympic Games in Beijing, China, in 2008, London, England in 2012 and then Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
LANCE ARMSTRONG’S DOPING CASE
The Lance Armstrong doping case led to the American former professional road racing cyclist being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and his eventual admission to using performance-enhancing drugs back in 2012.
THE DRESS
While Renae was behind bars, a photograph of a dress went viral in 2015 that had the world going crazy over whether it was black and blue or white and gold.
OSCAR PISTORIUS’ MURDER TRIAL
The Paralympian was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. He is currently serving time in jail in South Africa.
DISAPPEARANCE OF MH370 AND MH17 CRASH
No one knows where the Malaysia Flight MH370 crashed, but Renae missed the initial disaster when it occurred March 8 2014, when the flight from Kuala Lumpur destined for Beijing vanished. She also missed when Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was shot down near the Ukrainian border.
THE RISE OF ISLAMIC STATE
Islamic State, a new terror group took brutality to a new level with graphic beheadings and the brutal takeover of entire towns in Syria and Iraq in 2014. Renae will no doubt become familiar with them as they continue to be destroyed in the Middle East by US and Australian defence forces, and exposed for their deadly crimes across the world.
THE EXECUTION OF HER BALI 9 MATES
Renae was not there when Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed in April 2015 on Nusa Kambangan prison island after their appeals against their death sentences were rejected. They were all arrested back in 2005 when they were preparing to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia.
SCHAPELLE CORBY’S EXIT FROM BALI
They knew each other inside Bali’s Kerobokan jail, but Renae and Schapelle did not serve all of their time together. Renae would have missed seeing how she was finally freed and came home to Australia in 2017.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND THE #METOO MOVEMENT
Reane also missed how the alleged sexual misconduct of American former film producer Harvey Weinstein was first exposed in 2017 — and the fallout that has seen dozens of stars reveal their stories of being sexually abused on the casting couch and beyond.
ROYAL BIRTHS AND WEDDINGS
Renae has missed out on several royal weddings. Catherine and Prince William married in 2011, followed by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this year, before Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank also wed. She’s also missed the births of Prince George in 2013 and Princess Charlotte in 2015 before Prince Louis in April this year. But she will be free to welcome the birth of Harry and Meghan’s first child.
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