HUTCHENCE SNR SAYS 'I'D HANG DRUG PUSHERS'

The father of the late rock star Michael Hutchence wants to become an
MP in the toughest parliament in Australia. He will stand on a
platform of preventing suicide, getting rid of drugs and even hanging
drug smugglers.

Kelland ('Kell') Hutchence has emerged from grieving for his son, who
killed himself in a Sydney hotel room in November 1997, to run for the
Upper House of the New South Wales parliament, sometimes known as the
'bearpit'.

He told The Observer that he was making the move in memory of his son
who, he said, was not a habitual abuser of illicit substances.

He said he was ready for public scrutiny after his run-in with the
former INXS singer's lover, Paula Yates, over custody of their
daughter, Tiger Lily. He dropped the suit earlier this year.

'One of the reasons I'm doing this is because I think Michael was so
unhappy to leave us, as he had so much going and Tiger Lily was the
apple of his eye,' said Hutchence.

'I think Michael would be sympathetic with what I'm doing. I think
he'd be saying, ''Good on yer, Dad, you're trying to help people and
there's nothing wrong with that''.'

Hutchence, a businessman, has been nominated for public office with
the Speranza Public Health Team which aims to improve services, such
as phone lines and counsellors, for the distressed and suicidal.

He said: 'Speranza means hope in Italian and is about educating young
people on the dangers of dabbling in drink and drugs.'

But in what could be a surprise to some of his son's fans he feels the
present Labor state government, which goes to the polls on 27 March,
has been too soft on drug dealers and should consider the Malaysian
solution of hanging as an effective deterrent.

'These people are evil, and I think we all feel they should be dealt
with far more harshly. It certainly has worked in Malaysia and
Singapore, and maybe we should look at it as one of the options here.'

These policies, which he says are personal, fit into the law-and-order
debate which is dominating the New South Wales campaign. Kell, as he
likes to be known, is one of a record 264 election candidates.

Voters will be faced by a tablecloth-sized ballot paper measuring
110cm by 72cm for the Legislative Council, and Hutchence thinks he has
a chance of victory.

'Everyone's saying ''you are mad'', but I'm a sucker for punishment
and have always been very civic-minded. I suppose I'm a bit of a
political animal. I hope we get in, because we could contribute to
making the government get more realistic about what's going on.

'This evil of drugs is killing our kids off. It's terrible to see
what's going on in the back streets of Sydney.'

The campaigning on Sydney's talkback radio has begun already and
Hutchence joins a 'dream team' consisting of a mature former rock star
whose daughter battled heroin addiction and a mother who lost her
15-year-old daughter after an Ecstasy overdose in 1995.

However, the fight will be on against 80 other groups fielding
candidates, including The Make Millionaires Pay More Tax Party, The
What's Doing Party and The Marijuana Smoker's Rights Party.

Hutchence said parents and schools should make their children aware of
their bodies and the dangers of drugs, but he said contrary to popular
opinion Michael was not a significant drug user.

'I wouldn't admit that Michael was into drugs in any big way. I mean
he might have had his little spasms of this, that and the other, but
most musicians have that habit in a way.

'In all the time I have known Mike I haven't known him to be on drugs,
and I say that truthfully because he was such a great guy and was
loved and admired by people around the world.'

Kell admits his loss has toughened his attitudes but says, apart from
the crackdown on drugs and alcohol, there has to be more done to help
young people cope with unemployment and the 'emotional aspects' of
life. 'I certainly think in relation to my darling Michael it was a
lot of emotion, more than anything else, which drove him to do what he
did and what we'd like to see is a far greater allocation of funds by
government to try and do something about it.

'I can handle it [the loss] now and maybe I can help, and I think
Michael would have liked me to try and help those people who have
these tendencies, and that is why I joined this group Speranza, to
give some hope.'