PREMIER LEAVES THE CELL DOOR AJAR ON HEROIN TRIAL

NSW Premier Bob Carr has significantly softened his opposition to a
national heroin trial, conceding he could be persuaded to support the
plan.

Mr Carr's new approach emerged during a day on the hustings in western
Sydney, where he promised an extra 150 police detectives to fight
drug-related organised crime.

He said a further 50 new police would be appointed to British-style
intelligence positions concentrating on surveillance, managing
informants, analysing crime operations and monitoring repeat offenders.

Mr Carr also opened a new drug detoxification unit at the Mulawa
women's prison and a new 20-bed unit at Sydney's Fairfield Hospital.

Speaking at the Fairfield opening, Mr Carr said he was "open to new
approaches" on heroin because current government strategies in
Australia had failed.

"If someone can persuade me that a heroin trial will lead to less loss
of life, less crime and a better society, then I'll be persuaded," Mr
Carr said.

"My mind is not closed . . . I'm the first to concede that our present
approach to drugs is not working, that it is producing crime driven by
heroin dependency."

Senior government officials were surprised by the comments, saying the
Premier's rhetoric was now sharply at odds with his once outright
opposition to the heroin trial.

Mr Carr was careful to qualify his remarks, warning that a heroin
trial and other reform initiatives such as the licensing of clean,
safe heroin-injecting rooms and the lifting of prohibitions against
heroin could create new dangers for the community.

But he said: "What we can do is experiment on every front and to see
that we are trying the full range of available policies.

"If it (the heroin trial) is worth doing, we'll explore
it."

Mr Carr denied his "phase two" boost to police numbers was all about
catching up with the Opposition, which has promised 2500 new police.

"We are not attempting to compete with the Opposition . . . we are
talking about a carefully targeted augmenting of police numbers where
it will make the biggest difference," Mr Carr said.

"By targeting and talking the language of deployment and
intelligence-based policing, we are delivering real answers."