Corby soap opera lathers up

Schapelle Corby has always protested her innocence. Photo / AP

By this time next week, or even earlier, Schapelle Corby could be bodyboarding in the Bali surf.

But the soap opera that began with her arrest at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar 10 years ago is a long way off rolling the closing credits.

Australian television crews are already staking out Kerobokan jail, where Corby has resided since she was convicted of drug smuggling in 2005. A helicopter drone carrying a camera has been circling over the home of her sister Mercedes and brother-in-law Wayan Widyartha, where the 36-year-old will live if granted parole.

Indonesian Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin is expected to sign parole documents today, paving the way for Corby - who has always protested her innocence - to be released.

The trainee beautician from the Gold Coast, who will have to stay in Bali until mid-2017, is unlikely to celebrate in the manner proposed by a lawyer yesterday.

Interviewed on the Nine Network's Today show, Kerry Smith-Douglas said: "She'll probably pop a cork of champagne and then roll up a big marijuana joint the size of a cigar and kick back and enjoy herself."

Smith-Douglas, who was introduced as the Corby family's ex-lawyer - a claim they hotly denied late last night - later insisted she had been joking.

Corby, who was arrested with 4.2kg of cannabis in her bodyboard carrier, was given a 20-year jail term which was cut by five years in 2012. That and smaller remissions mean she has served two-thirds of her sentence, making her eligible for parole.

Her every step in Bali is likely to be filmed and photographed, at least for the first few weeks or months.

And while there has been speculation that she could receive millions of dollars for a TV interview, that might prompt legal action for proceeds of crime by Australian authorities.

As Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Fairfax Radio yesterday: "The old principle is crime should not pay."

Asked about Corby's likely release, the PM was guarded, noting it was "ultimately a matter for the Indonesian justice system", even if that system was "a little different to ours".

While Mercedes Corby denies an interview deal has been signed, Channel Nine will screen a telemovie, Schapelle, next Monday. Corby's mother, Rosleigh Rose, has said it was "absolutely disgusting" that the Queensland Government provided A$567,000 ($617,000 ) in funding.