Bali 9: The Untold Story (30 page)

No book that aims to trace the lives of nine young Australians over two countries can be written without the generous effort and time of many people. We want to acknowledge and thank all those who helped make that possible.

To the family, friends, classmates and work colleagues in Australia who helped us build a profile of the nine youths, thank you for the generosity of your time and your recollections. Some offered their help publicly, some preferred to remain anonymous, but their overwhelming commitment was to help us create a real picture of the nine young people at the centre of this worldwide story.

To medicos, like Dr Peter Carson; university experts; researchers, and the drug addicts who spoke to us—thank you for helping us to understand the nature of addiction and the scourge of drugs like heroin.

To the many lawyers who helped navigate our understanding of the case, and fellow journalists like Marnie O’Neill, Debbie White, Paul Toohey, Mark Burrows, Tim Palmer, Marian Carroll, Rob Taylor, Sian Powell and Stephen Fitzpatrick who offered insight, and to Rehame, for providing an analysis of talkback callers, thank you.

Komang Suriadi deserves special mention. He was our translator, fixer extraordinaire and driver. So does Lukman S Bintoro, our photographer. Together they, and their families, have become part of our families, providing valuable insight, unwavering loyalty, hard work, dedication and definitely friendship. We couldn’t have done this without you.

Thanks also to Erwin Pietersz, Putu Diah Kusumastuti Budhyasa, Sonny Tumbelaka, Made Nagi, Komang Sutrisna, Miftahudin M. Halim, Darma Putra; Warung proprietors Ibu Abas, Ibu Slamet and Pak Firman; staff at the Denpasar District Court, including I Wayan Yasa Abadi and Made Sukarta; police including Antonious Reniban and Bambang Sugiarto; Wayan Ana; Denpasar prosecutors including Olopan Nainggolan, Putu Indriati, the late David Adji, Wayan Sinayarti, Made Sudarmawan, Suhadi, Wayan Nastra, Ida Bagus Wiswantanu; lawyers Mochamad Rifan, Anggia Browne, Wirawan Adnan, Robert Khuana, Daniar Trisasongko, and Fransiskus Passar and Dr Anak Agung Hartawan.

On a personal level, Jeff Fagan, Rita King, Tony King, Robert King and Wayan Kardani helped ease our workload, as did David Fagan, who offered us both unbridled support. Sue and Thurlow Wockner were always a phone call away.

And, finally, to three people who made it happen. Our agent, Bill Tikos, who suggested we do it; our publisher, Alison Urquhart, who had faith from the start, and our editor, Sophie Hamley, whose good humour, calm manner and sage advice were invaluable. Thank you.

Madonna King
is one of Queensland’s best-known commentators, broadcasting and writing on issues ranging from the
Big Brother
phenomenon to the future of our constitution. Her daily radio program on 612 ABC Brisbane is the result of twenty years working as a journalist in Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney and the United States. Her career has taken her from the police rounds desk of the
Courier-Mail
to being national political correspondent in Canberra for the
Courier-Mail
, Queensland political correspondent for
The Australian
, running the Sydney office of
The Australian
, setting up the Olympics coverage for News Limited papers and serving three years as deputy editor of Sydney’s
Daily Telegraph
. She currently also publishes a weekly column in the
Courier-Mail
. Her first book,
Catalyst
, was released in 2005. Madonna is a University of Queensland graduate, a member of the World Press Institute and a former visiting fellow in journalism at Queensland University of Technology. She is also a board member of the Walkley advisory committee, which oversees media industry awards.

Cindy Wockner
is one of the leading writers on crime and legal issues in Australia and the Pacific region, and has been recognised with awards for her outstanding reporting. Cindy covered the series of gang rapes of teenage girls in western Sydney in 2000, leading the
Daily Telegraph
’s coverage and penning a book on the crime wave. Sent to Indonesia to cover the 2002 Bali bombings, Cindy subsequently moved there. She is now a recognised international authority on many of the ongoing events that have unfolded in that time in Indonesia. Her access to authorities in both Indonesia and Australia ensures her radio, television and newspaper commentary has led much of the debate about events in the region. She has written and commented widely on issues as diverse as the Australian Embassy bombing, the tsunami in Aceh, the arrest and trial of Schapelle Corby, the arrest of the Bali Nine and the second Bali bombing. Cindy is a Murdoch University graduate, and has also worked as a senior journalist in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra, where she has covered politics, police rounds and general news and worked as the legal affairs editor and deputy Chief of Staff.