MOORE MAY BE SIDELINED ON HEALTH POLICY

The ACT Liberals look set to leave Health Minister Michael Moore out in the
cold as the October election looms.

Yesterday Chief Minister Gary Humphries launched the Liberals' health
policy task force, which would consider alternatives to Mr Moore's
direction on illicit drugs.

Mr Humphries said the Liberal Party would develop its own health policy in
the lead-up to the election. He could not say whether Mr Moore would remain
a minister in a re-elected Humphries government.

Mr Moore said he would develop his own policies if he decided to contest
another election. He was unconcerned about how conflicting pre-election
promises might be followed through if he continued as health minister.

"It's not confusing at all. It just doesn't fit into your neat box," Mr
Moore said.

Mr Moore, an Independent, holds several ministries including Corrections,
Housing and Community Care. He said the ACT's Hare Clark system made it
impossible for the Liberals to appoint ministers until they had been
elected to the Assembly.

Mr Humphries said not all the ACT Government's illicit drug programs were
effective. The task force would consider implementing a South Australian
program which combined detox drug naltrexone and counselling to help heroin
users quit.

"We've certainly implemented a harm-minimisation approach to date. We need
to decide whether we need to explore alternatives to that," Mr Humphries said.

"We have a range of programs at the moment. This may be one we can add to
those range of programs; it may be a replacement for programs which aren't
as effective at the moment. It may be simply another flash in the pan, I
don't know."

Mr Moore joined the Government as health minister under former chief
minister Kate Carnell in 1998. He did not believe his chances of regaining
the ministry were diminished under Mr Humphries. The "differences of
opinion" between himself and the Liberal Party on issues like illicit drugs
were why he would never join the Liberal Party.

Mr Moore would announce in August whether he would stand for re-election,
in the same month that Mr Humphries' task force was due to make its
recommendations.

The results of ACT naltrexone trials last year showed the drug was
effective in the short-term, but failed users because they stopped taking
it. Of the 14 people who took part in the trial, only one was still taking
the drug after three months.

Liberal MLA Jacqui Burke called this week for an ACT Government evaluation
of naltrexone implants and other rapid-detox methods.

Founder of the South Australian program Anne Bressington said detox needed
to address all the problems which fed into heroin addiction. People who
supported heroin trials and "shooting galleries" were dealing with a
"different category of addict".

Harm-minimisation initiatives should be considered but not as "first cab
off the rank".

Ms Bressington, a member of the Prime Minister's Australian National
Council on Drugs, supported Mr Howard's "tough on drugs" policy.