STATES GETS A BAD REPORT ON DRUG STRATEGIES

AUSTRALIAN governments have failed to tackle legal and illicit drug
problems, some spending less than $10 per person on treatment and prevention.

A report by the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia says
governments earned $7.3 billion from alcohol and tobacco taxes last
year, but had failed to spend sufficient funds on drug strategies.

The report says the lack of government commitment comes despite
estimated costs of drug abuse reaching $29 billion this year.

ADCA head David Crosbie yesterday singled out the Northern Territory
for praise, along with Western Australia and Victoria.

But Mr Crosbie criticised NSW, which reaped $1.037 billion in revenue
from drugs but refused to reveal how much of that was poured back into
drug strategies.

Called Drugs, Money and Governments 1997-98, the annual report also
rated NSW as the worst performing government on drug programs and services.

Two hundred drug experts, including medical, police, teaching,
judicial and prison professions, measured the performance of all State
and Territory governments by rating the effectiveness, adequacy and
commitment to their drug strategies.

They rated the Northern Territory the best, followed by Western
Australia, then Victoria and South Australia, with NSW the worst.

"While the NT Government continues to be the outstanding performer, it
is disappointing to again note that NSW is rated as the poorest
performing government in Australia," the report says.

"NSW is the largest State and arguably has some of the most
significant drug problems . . . but according to the performance
survey, NSW had failed to make a serious commitment to reducing drug
related harm."

The NSW Government last week revealed $158 million worth of
initiatives to combat illicit drugs, including a trial of the
country's first heroin injecting room.

The report says the initiatives, which were in response to the NSW
Drug Summit in May, were probably "a step in the right direction", but
more needed to be done.

A spokeswoman for NSW Health Minister Craig Knowles said the Drug
Summit had superseded the report. The Government's initiatives
included a review of all NSW treatment services, she said.

It is understood NSW Health refused to reveal its expenditure because
it disagreed with the methodology of the report.

The report recommends a substantial increase in funding for treatment,
prevention, research and education by all governments suggesting
imposing an alcohol levy to raise revenue, similar to one in the
Northern Territory.

Some State governments faced accountability problems, with some
unclear whether funds earmarked for specific programs were being spent.