DOWNER OFFERS HELP IN BALI CANNABIS CASE

The Australian Government has agreed to help the jailed Queensland student
Schapelle Corby get evidence about the origins of 4.1 kilograms of cannabis
found in her luggage at Denpasar airport.

The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, met Corby's legal advisers in
Adelaide yesterday and agreed to ask the Indonesian Government to undertake
the tests that may reveal where the large plastic bag was made and where
its contents were grown.

"We would like to know where this cannabis came from and where the bag came
from," a spokesman for Mr Downer said after the meeting. Mr Downer's office
will make the request to the Indonesian authorities through the embassy in
Jakarta.

The move might result in the Australian Federal Police becoming involved in
the case. Mr Downer's spokesman said that if Indonesian police did not have
the expertise to undertake the analysis to get the information Corby's
lawyers wanted, Australian experts could provide it.

"If they were to ask us [for assistance] through the AFP, then that's
something we would be happy to help out with," he said.