As has been said, we don't know enough about the case yet to pass judgement. With that in mind, all that follows is conjecture.

Firstly, before it was announced that the boy had a drug problem back in Australia (at 14? What the hell were his parents doing all that time?), I read that Indonesia deals with addicts differently from recreational users - those with small quantities (such as this boy) who can prove a history of addiction get lighter sentences. Perhaps the addiction is fabricated in the hope of getting him off the hook in that way?

Secondly, even if it was a sting, the allegation is that the boy (cashed up and unsupervised) bought drugs in a country in which even a deaf and blind person would have to be aware of the risks. I work with 14 year-olds every day, and very few are stupid enough to brush that off. And many of them are switched on enough to think that this boy is a fool.

Thirdly, as has already been noted, what on earth were the parents thinking, taking the boy to Bali when he apparently had a drug problem? And what were they doing while he was out sourcing his pot? Drinking cocktails by the pool? Some family holiday ...

While the boy will pay the price here (and fair enough: he [allegedly] committed the crime), it's the parents who should be well and truly ashamed of themselves. He'll do some time in custody and then get on with life. Hopefully they'll do their time in mental anguish for much longer.

I think that having lived in Indonesia on and off from 2006 - 2010 that few posters here seem to appreciate that Kuta is a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

There are drugs like methamphetamine and mushrooms everywhere, prostitution, home made spirits (thus the methanol problem) gambling etc etc with the local police actively administering and profiteering from it.

..

The bomb memorial is a favorite site for dealing, as I know from personal experience.

..

The simple solution in my mind is a prisoner swap - our kids for theirs. I reckon that would work, otherwise, the poor kid is likely in for hell.

Taking drugs (so-called social drugs), an excess of alcohol and smoking is still endemic amongst teenaged kids these days, despite the education at school, and on TV advertising. The attitude of "It won't happen to me" has been proven wrong so many times. Parents should all be aware of drug taking and binge drinking, as the signs of both have been publicised many times., this now beggars the question, that,
are parents so self-absorbed that they don't look for, or recognise the telltale signs of excessive alcohol consumption and drug use; or have they given up 'checking' on the kids when they go out, party, get horribly drunk and/or take drugs. These young adults, despite the campaigns regarding "self-respect", "don't do drugs" and "don't drink and drive", continue to drink and drive and take drugs have a responsibility to the general public regarding their behaviour. It is time for all to act responsibly if their lifestyle matches the problems mentioned in this post.To live a life of regret after having a bad accident which might cause the death of others is a life sentence,not always a jail sentence, and not one that a person could relish for the rest of his/her life.
NSB

I personally think it sends a much better message to not conduct any prisoner swap at all;
That message is "if you do the wrong thing, the government will only pay for your lawyers, but will definitely not pull strings for your personal sake to make your life more comfortable".

A culture of self-entitlement and belief that the world will bend over to pull you out of your own mess would only fuel the poor destructive behavior and treatment Australians subject each other and foreign cultures to- that they are the center of the universe and everyone will fall over themselves to cater to their selfish wants.

Not to mention if we hammer the idea into more bogans' heads that you are in fact entirely subject to the laws of the country you enter and aren't special just because you're white and they're brown- more Australian tourists might start treating other people with a bit more respect, and probably won't result in as many people trying to kill us.

Posted by King Hazza, Wednesday, 12 October 2011 4:55:02 PM

" ... bOGANs ... "

Hmmm .. a bit shallow methinks.

As said recently, the combination of the culture of what really goes on in some of our high schools visa vi drug use

(like wEEd and excess over prescribed dEXIEs)

plus the failure of our secondary education system to empart:

1. First Aid
2. The Legal/Guvment System & Mutual Reciprocity
3. The Value of $$$
4. Independent Living
5. Comparative Religion/Philosophy/Ethics

leaves a lot of kids an accident waiting to happen, especially in intoxicating places like Kuta, Bali.

Surely it is not for us to blame the kids? But rather to make up as best we can for failing to turn them our right prior to them coming out as legal adults of legal capacity (or otherwise.)

..

I am opposed to the ongoing !Child Abuse! being administered by the scum in Canberra. It is if successive generations of the crown seem to feel the need to continue the abuse, from their own disadvantaged in that place south of scotland in times gone by, to UnWed mothers, to the Genocidal and DeHumanising policies up to and including the Stolen Generations, to the kids of Asylum Seekers and associates today.

It is not these kids that should be behind bars i.m.o., but rather the likes of *John Howard* and *Juliar Geelar*

Surely? .. seriously, I know that some of you think that I am a little "other" but I can tell you, people that treat children this way certainly do not get my vote.

..

I recall a conversation where someone said that the "Magna Carta" did not actually apply to ALL PEOPLES but rather to a select few.

..

But for me *hAZZa*, even if you don't Luv your own Children of your neighbour as much as your own, you ought also consider considering that the Indonesians are upset by the confinement of theirs,

(it doesn't make for furthering good relations in an imperfect world with a tarnished history)

thus I reckon a

*PRISONER EXCHANGE*

would be grand.

Dream on, kids are wholly and solely the responsibility of their parents, not governments, not schools or educators.

Furthermore, parents are, or at least should be, responsible and liable for the actions of their children.

Now if parents don't want the resposbillity of caring for and guiding children, there are a couple of simple solutions, either don't have them, or, if they are a mistake, like so many today, make adoption a whole lot easier so the hundreds of wannabe parents can have these unwanted kids to care and provide for.

Of cause, rediculus schemes like the baby bonus are on of th contributors of way wood kids.

Not that I am tagging this kid as wayward. But , witoutnknowing the full fac, there does seem to be a lack of parenting in this case.