'Budgie Nine' arrive in Australia, ask for 'privacy' and 'respect'

Eight members of the so-called Budgie Nine have arrived back in Australia and are asking for privacy after their Malaysian Grand Prix antics.

Nick Kelly, a member of the Budgie Nine arrives at Sydney International Airport in Sydney, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016.

Nick Kelly, a member of the Budgie Nine arrives at Sydney International Airport in Sydney, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Source: AAP

Eight of the nine Australian men who were arrested for sporting Malaysian-flag budgie smugglers at the Grand Prix have have arrived back in Australia, hours after escaping conviction.

"We would like to take this opportunity to ask you to please be respectful of our families' privacy at this time," one of the men, Nick Kelly, told reporters at Sydney's international airport on Friday.

"We would like to urge all Australians travelling overseas in the future to be very aware of the cultural differences and sensitivities that exist in other nations."



Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the Malaysian authorities were "very lenient" in releasing the so-called "Budgie Nine" with a warning.

Mr Turnbull said it was appropriate for the men to apologise in court on Thursday, describing them as "very repentant".

"They are on their way home and that's good," he told FIVEaa radio on Friday.

"I think the Malaysia authorities were very lenient."

In their first night of freedom after being detained on Sunday night, three men checked into a flight bound for Singapore just after 6.30pm local time (9.30pm AEST) on Thursday, before five more of the friends left a few hours later.
(L-R) Thomas Whitworth, Adam Pasfield and James Paver, three of the nine Australian men arrested in Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport
(L-R) Thomas Whitworth, Adam Pasfield and James Paver, three of the nine Australian men arrested in Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (AAP) Source: AAP
Jack Walker, staffer to Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne, remained behind with his father John Walker on Thursday night.

The prime minister will be talking to Mr Pyne when he returns from overseas about Mr Walker's future as a ministerial adviser.

"He needs to have a very hard look at himself and I'm sure will be considering his future carefully."

The group of nine, which also included Thomas Whitworth, Branden Stobbs, Edward Leaney, Nicolas Kelly, Thomas Laslett, James Paver, Adam Pasfield and Timothy Yates - pleaded guilty to being a public nuisance but were cautioned and released without conviction.

John Walker said on Thursday that his son Jack and his friends just wanted to go home and "resume their lives".

"We are just relieved the boys are out of danger," he told reporters following the ruling.

Steven Ciobo, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, told SBS that Australians travelling abroad "need to be aware of local customs".

He said he does not think the incident will damage trade relations with Malaysia.

"Individual incidents happen and we even have trade irritants that rise from time to time between countries, and I don't think it will be much potential for one small event to have system-wide impact between two countries."

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3 min read
Published 7 October 2016 6:18am
Updated 7 October 2016 8:15pm
Source: AAP, SBS

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