Mixed Victory Over Domestic Violence Leave. Also: Australia Rejects Ransom Demands
During a Senate committee inquiry in 2010, the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs
and Trade outlined its reasoning: "The Australian government does not pay ransoms," it said.
"The no-ransom policy is standard across all our major international consular partners and many other countries as well, on the basis
that paying ransom would encourage other kidnappings." While Donald Trump was campaigning for president — and proposing his "travel ban" — he had an eye on the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation: Indonesia.
Last weekend, Dr. Kenneth Elliott, an Australian surgeon who was kidnapped, appeared in a video released
by Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, a terrorist group in Mali that is affiliated with Al Qaeda.
Some large corporations already offer paid domestic violence leave, like PwC Australia, which confirmed
that it had testified to the commission in support of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Last night, "Four Corners," a news program of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, looked into Mr. Trump’s business dealings in the country, which includes the development of a large Bali resort
that will overlook the temple of Tanah Lot, one of the island’s most sacred sites.
Several countries closely allied with Australia — including the United States
and Britain — refuse to pay a ransom, which some experts say has led terrorist groups to avoid kidnapping citizens from those nations.
