Bali Nine criminals not rock stars

Spending almost two decades in an Indonesian prison is a tough but deserved penalty for the Bali Nine drug traffickers. This makes the release of the remaining five members and their return to families in Australia easy to understand on compassionate grounds. But the Albanese government is not doing anyone any favours parading the newly released criminals like modern-day rock stars, as it did on Friday.

The treatment given to the convicted drug mules in their repatriation from momentary detention in the Northern Territory has been completely inappropriate. It should not be beyond the wit of the federal government to organise a reintegration into the community for the former prisoners that does not have the hallmarks of celebrity.

The Albanese government had leveraged Australia’s relationship with new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to secure the release of the remaining members of the Bali Nine. Although it was a controversial intervention for many, the big opportunity in the release was to use it to educate a new generation of young Australians about the pitfalls of dealing with drugs in Asia. But in a celebrity-obsessed world, the message sent by scenes of special treatment and an airport entourage that surrounded the former prisoners on Friday undermined the potency of that lesson.

Heavily armed Australian Federal Police extraordinarily intervened in the repatriation, escorting a Brisbane-bound and masked Michael Czugaj to his waiting aircraft after threatening media with “further action” if any photographs were taken inside the terminal. All of the former prisoners are prohibited from speaking to the media for fear of damaging relationships with the Indonesian government. This is an appropriate demand.

The big message must never be lost. That is that there is nothing glamorous about drugs or jail – just broken dreams and wasted lives.