PM'S FBI DRUG TALKS DRAW FLAK

The Prime Minister's scheduled talks with the head of the FBI on
Australia's drugs battle drew scorn and applause yesterday as he appealed
to State premiers to put aside their differences to combat the heroin problem.

The chief executive of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, Mr
David Crosbie, questioned whether Mr Howard would learn much from the
United States when the US performance on drugs was inferior to that of many
other countries, including Australia.

Mr Crosbie said the US spent many times more per head of population on its
"zero tolerance" approach to drug law enforcement, but continued to
experience more profound ill-effects: a much higher HIV infection rate
among injecting drug users and more than 2.5 million people in jail on
drug-related offences.

But Mr Howard, speaking at the end of a three-day visit to New Zealand,
said he would meet the head of the FBI, Mr Louis Freeh, on Friday to
discuss Australia's heroin problem and the prospect of greater
international co-operation.

"New York's crime rate was legendary, was intimidatory, and there has been
a spectacular improvement because of those policies," Mr Howard said.

"I think we at least ought to be open-minded enough to have a look at that
and say is there any relevance in that experience for Australia?"

But Mr Howard said he was not necessarily indicating he would inject more
resources into the drugs war. He said he was ready to work with any Labor
premier and any law-enforcement agency for strategies to combat drug
trafficking.

"This is something that ought to be above and beyond party politics," he
said. "It's something that ought to be, as far as possible, separate from
the heat and burden and hurly-burly of election campaigns because it is
something that we need to work together very closely on ... I'll sit down
as readily with [NSW Premier] Mr Carr as I will with [Victorian Premier] Mr
Kennett or [WA Premier] Mr Court to try and work to solve this problem."

The Salvation Army's drug rehabilitation program co-ordinator, Mr Gerard
Byrne, said he welcomed any move by the Federal Government for a tougher
stance on drugs.

He said that although Australia's drug culture was different from that of
the US, American drug policies should not be overlooked. "This is a country
that has dealt with its own drug problem for years now and we should not
disregard that experience," he said.

He said any new measures would need to include more money and resources for
education and provision programs.

But the ACT Health Minister, Mr Michael Moore, said of Mr Howard: "By
calling on the FBI to give him better information he is slapping the
Australian police commissioners in the face."

Mr Kennett called yesterday for a meeting of all State leaders next week,
saying the country was in the grip of a drugs epidemic. "We have got to
start the process and, hopefully, something good will come of it," he said.

The Federal Health Minister, Dr Wooldridge, who was sympathetic to the
unsuccessful push for a prescribed heroin trial in the ACT 18 months ago,
said last night that "the moment for a heroin trial has passed".

He said he would be grateful for the strong support of premiers for trials
of other anti-heroin drugs now under way "which may show great promise".

About 20 studies are planned or under way in Australia, including 14 trials
into the use of four key drugs associated with the treatment of heroin
addiction. The drugs under trial are naltrexone, LAAN, slow-release oral
morphine and Buprenorphine.

Mr Crosbie said that while much had been made of the Howard Government's
tough-on-drugs policy, little attention had been given to the $90million
the Government had allocated for treatment and prevention programs.

A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Sydney, Father Brian Lucas, said it
was naive to think there was a simple solution.

"We need to consult everyone who has something to offer [in combating the
drug problem]."