Port Macquarie mother heads to Bali to protect convicted Bali Nine member Matthew Norman

Her son is convicted Bali Nine member Matthew Norman, sentenced to a lifetime in Indonesia’s unforgiving Kerobokan prison after being found guilty of heroin possession in 2005.

The Port Macquarie mother vows to throw everything she owns at a campaign to stop the execution of Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, sentenced to death by firing squad for their involvement in an attempt to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin out of Indonesia a decade ago.

After 10 years behind bars, the fate of Chan and Sukumaran will be delivered with just 72 hours notice, before they are transported to Indonesia’s penal island Nusakambangan and executed. A final bid to save their lives will be launched in Jakarta on Monday by Australian embassy officials.

It was a fate Robyn’s son faced briefly before an appeal had his sentenced reduced to life. Kerobokan prison will be where Norman, now 28, is expected to draw his final breath.

It is a nightmare that has haunted Robyn every day for the past 10 years. Broken and exhausted, her days are consumed by the consequences of her son’s actions and the life he has denied himself because of drugs.

“I’m a mess. I don’t sleep, I don’t see anyone anymore, sometimes I drink,” she said, looking down at her hands. “But I’m not giving up. I will not give up.

“The act of executing these two young boys just defies me. Yes, they have done the wrong thing but both Andrew and Myuran have shown they’ve changed.

“Matthew wants to appeal the length of his life sentence but I am begging him not to. Not now. I don’t think it will go his way.”

Matthew’s father lives in Bali and has contact with him up to three times a week. Robyn has travelled to see her son once a year but believes now is the time for the family to unite.

“He is going to need support through all of this. I class (Andrew and Myuran) as part of my family now. They are about to shoot my two sons – line them up outside and just shoot them.

“I’m a nurse and I see a lot of death. Death is supposed to be a natural thing. This is not natural.”

She is scathing of the Federal Police and believes more should have been done to see the group tried and convicted on Australian soil.

“They have a lot to explain,” Robyn said.

“But we can do something now. Everyone needs to jump up and down and protest. We need to stop executions. Write to your local MP, do what you can and help teach our kids right from wrong.

“I see kids on the streets of Port Macquarie and you know they’ve been shooting up - they’ve got glazed eyes and sores on their legs – why do they do it? Leave the drugs alone.”

While living in Tweed Heads, Robyn worked collaboratively with local police on a school drug education program. She spoke from the heart as a mother who has lost a son, sharing Matthew’s letters and the horrors of his life behind bars.

“It got to them every time. I’d like to be able to do something like that here in our schools – to make a difference.

“All Matt wanted to do was buy a V8 ute. He had a girlfriend. His twin sister is getting married in March. He’ll die over there now.”

Robyn hopes to speak with both Andrew and Myuran after she arrives in Bali this week.

“I just want to be able to give them a hug. What can you say to them – sorry?”

On April 17, 2005, nine Australians were arrested at Denpasar airport on suspicion of attempting to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin out of Indonesia.

At the time it was alleged Martin Stephens, Renae Lawrence, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj — were found with heroin strapped to their bodies. Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen were later arrested at hotel in Kuta Beach for heroin possession while two others, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, considered the ringleaders of the group, were apprehended at Denpasar airport.

They would become known as the Bali Nine.

In a country known to hand down the death penalty for drug offences, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed information about the group’s movements had been provided to the Indonesian authorities.

The group faced the Indonesian courts two months later and in February all nine were convicted, with seven sentenced to a lifetime inKerobokan prison. A complicated appeal process saw the sentences for Lawrence, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Si Yi Chen reduced to 20 years by the court. Prosecutors later appeal the lighter sentence, resulting in Rush, Nguyen, Chen and Norman also facing the death penalty - a decision that is later overturned.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad. Their fate has been confirmed and the pair will be executed on the penal island of Nusakambangan with just 72 hours notice unless a last minute bid by Australian authorities to save their lives is successful.

Australian embassy officials will meet in Jakarta on Monday.

A petition organised by the Mercy Campaign calling on the men's lives to be spared has been signed by almost 160,000 people.