Mike Willesee still hopeful Schapelle Corby interview will go ahead

18th February 2014

EVEN as AFP officers were raiding Channel Seven offices thousands of kilometres away, veteran journalist Mike Willesee remained “hopeful” an interview with Schapelle Corby would go ahead. 

 

“I’m optimistic and certainly hopeful but there are a lot of balls in the air,” he said outside the villa in Bali where Corby is staying.

Willesee said the AFP raid would fail to uncover evidence of a payment to Corby as “there is no deal”.

However he refused to rule out her being paid after the interview.

“I don’t have to deny anything,” he said. “All I know is that there has been no payment.

“We have, through a lot of hard work, positioned ourselves so that if there is an interview we are first in line. I’m optimistic and hopeful (it will go ahead).”

“The interview will take place when the Corby family are ready and when the Indonesians are ready. We are guests in their country and we’re going to be very cognisant of what their needs are,” he said.

“We’d be very careful in an interview to see that we didn’t breach any understanding that we have with the Indonesian authorities.

“We’re going to very respectful of that.”

However, Willesee clarified that neither he nor Channel Seven had any agreement with the Indonesian authorities.

He also said there is no limit on how long Seven would wait in Bali for the interview.

Original article