Overview
- Foreign Minister Penny Wong appointed Pablo Kang to explore all avenues to progress the case and asked him to leave for Laos as soon as possible.
- Pablo Kang heads DFAT’s Southeast Asia Regional and Mainland Division and has previously served as ambassador or high commissioner in Cambodia, the UAE and Vanuatu.
- Canberra formally protested the lenient outcomes after a Laotian court fined 10 people about $185 each and imposed suspended sentences for destroying evidence.
- No charges have been laid over the deaths of Australians Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones or four other foreign nationals from the 2024 mass poisoning.
- DFAT apologised for failing to inform the families of the court results, as relatives voiced outrage and opposition figures urged tougher diplomatic action including summoning the Laotian ambassador.