Bali Nine member Matthew Norman’s touching first act as soon as he got back to Australia – as details of his new life as a free man are revealed
EXCLUSIVE
Bali Nine drug smuggler Matthew Norman has made a harrowing secret pilgrimage to his mother’s grave after being released from his prison hell.
Norman’s mother Robyn never saw her son released from prison before she tragically died in January 2024, while he was still serving nearly two decades for heroin trafficking.
But after his sudden release from Bali’s infamous Kerobokan prison last month, one of the first things Norman, 38, did on his return to Australia was visit her grave.
Since his release, he has lived in a Christian family’s $4 million home in Torquay, on the Great Ocean Road south of Melbourne, and attends a local church.
He has also reconnected with friends and family, including his father Michael, who also moved back to Australia from Bali following his son’s release.
Norman’s Indonesian wife Anita, who has joined him in rebuilding his life in his home country, has revealed how he has tried to re-establish himself as a free man.
“Thank you to all our dear friends who continue to pray for this miracle,” she posted on Facebook.
‘Rejoice, happiness. Visited the grave of his mother and his father and his father and sisters, uncles and cousins.’
Bali Nine drug smuggler Matthew Norman (pictured) has made a harrowing secret pilgrimage to his mother’s grave after being released from his prison hell.
His Indonesian wife Anita, who is rebuilding his life in his home country with Matthew Norman (pictured together), has revealed how he has tried to live life as a free man again.
Since his release, Norman has lived in the $4 million home of a Christian family in Torquay, on the Great Ocean Road south of Melbourne, and attends a local church
Norman was photographed with Anita and his family for the first time since his release from prison on January 5
Questions had been raised over whether Norman would be forced to live apart from his wife and stepdaughter, 15, after his release.
Anita and her daughter can travel to Australia through normal visa application procedures, but it remains unclear whether they will be allowed to stay in the country permanently.
They were spotted staying in a four-bedroom, two-storey townhouse on the water in Torquay, just a stone’s throw from Cozy Corner, a popular beach with families for its calm waves.
The property is owned by Christian couple Ann and Alan Wilkins, who offered it to Norman after developing a close relationship while he was in prison.
The property is owned by Christian couple Ann and Alan Wilkins, who offered it to Norman after developing a close relationship while he was in prison
Matthew Norman (left) looked happy and relieved after spending almost two decades in prison for drug smuggling
Norman married his Indonesian girlfriend Anita (pictured) in Kerobokan prison in 2014
Norman was sentenced to death in 2006 after he was caught trying to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin from Bali. In 2008, the sentence was reduced to life in prison.
He met Anita while in prison and the couple married in 2014 at Kerobokan Prison. Norman also became father to her daughter Stella, 15.
Norman was only 18 when he was arrested and is the youngest member of the Bali Nine, three of whom are dead: two executed and one dying of cancer.
He left school at 16 because he wanted to work and earn money rather than complete his HSC, later saying that he had been ‘reckless and callous, wanting to cut corners in life’.
His prison sentence had serious consequences for his family at home: one of his sisters became anorexic and another was harassed because of her brother’s crime.
His parents were also subjected to vicious hate mail in the aftermath of his arrest and subsequent imprisonment.
Norman was one of only two of the original Bali Nine to remain in Kerobokan until his release, where he designed t-shirts, bags and posters and applied for a reduced sentence.
The couple, who married in Kerobokan prison in 2014, are pictured with family and friends on Sunday
Matthew Norman has been spending time with the congregation in a crowded church since arriving in Australia, his wife revealed in her social media posts
Anita Norman shared a photo from the airport as she waited to be reunited with her husband Matthew Norman
He admitted that every day was “just a struggle to keep doing good things” amid the “chaos” of prison.
Norman, along with Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen, were all released from prison in Indonesia last month after being jailed nearly two decades ago.
They were transferred to Australia after the federal government struck a deal with Indonesia after weeks of negotiations during a top-secret mission.
The development came after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requested the transfer during a meeting with new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the APEC summit in November.
President Subianto agreed to release the prisoners on humanitarian grounds.
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, another of the Bali Nine drug mules who had jointly tried to smuggle 8.7kg of heroin, died behind bars in 2018 from stomach cancer.
Chan and Sukumaran were executed in 2015, while Renae Lawrence was released after thirteen years.
On December 30, Rush appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court to learn his fate in connection with a series of crimes committed two decades ago..
Anita also shared several tourist photos of places she had visited with Matthew since he became a free man last month, including Circular Quay on Sydney Harbour.
Supported by his parents Lee and Christine, Rush was ordered to appear in court on historic charges that predated his 2005 arrest at Bali airport.
The now 39-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, receiving tainted property, theft and trespassing, all committed when he was 19.
Police prosecutor Matthew Bach agreed with the submission and magistrate Patricia Kirkman-Scroope convicted Rush of 13 offenses but did not punish him further.