BEAZLEY CARPETS BOLKUS OVER GAFFE

A flawed attempt by the Opposition yesterday to embarrass the Government
over its drugs policy led to Opposition Leader Kim Beazley carpeting a
senior colleague.

It also led to an acrimonious dispute between Prime Minister John Howard
and the ABC and a further deterioration in relations between the Government
and the national broadcaster.

Mr Beazley intervened when Labor's shadow attorney-general, Nick Bolkus,
issued a statement that suggested Mr Howard was personally responsible for
drug-related deaths.

The gaffe overshadowed Mr Beazley's first election campaign trip to
Tasmania and comes as a new poll to be published today shows the Opposition
just ahead of the Coalition.

Senator Bolkus was responding to the launch by Mr Howard on Wednesday of
the Coalition's drugs policy. His press statement bore the headline: 'John
Howard's drugs' legacy - 60 dead Perth alone'.

The statement accused the Prime Minister of putting young Australian lives
at risk with the claim that under the Coalition Government the price of a
cap of heroin had dropped from $40 to as low as $5.

Mr Beazley heard about the statement from journalists, but stonewalled
during two press conferences until he was able to contact Senator Bolkus.

Later Senator Bolkus defended his statements, but regretted that a false
inference might have been drawn.

'I don't accuse John Howard of personal involvement in murder, never have.
What I'm saying is that either through incompetence or through lack of
interest he basically has dropped the ball,' he said.

He said his language had been distorted, before ending the press conference
abruptly and taking refuge in the toilets at a central Sydney restaurant.

Mr Beazley also did not believe an apology was warranted and he backed
Senator Bolkus's criticism of the Coalition's policy.

'The Prime Minister is pursuing a strategy of two steps forward and one
back. The consequences of doing that was to diminish the enforcement
capabilities of very important agencies,' Mr Beazley said.

The row with the ABC erupted when an announcer, Verity James, who was
interviewing Mr Howard, misread a note from her producer.

He had just said the ABC was biased. 'The ABC's coverage of this election
campaign has not been balanced.'

But Mr Howard was flabbergasted when James said, 'Senator Nick Bolkus has
released a statement that the Federal Government, ah, a cap of heroin is
cheaper, is cheaper under a GST or is just cheaper. I think we need to have
that clarified.'

She apparently confused 'gvt', the abbreviation for government, with GST.

Mr Howard did not want her to drop it without explanation, but he was
abruptly cut off by the news, prompting an angry blast at the announcer.
The criticism was not broadcast but his tirade was picked up by the
television cameras.

Afterwards Mr Howard said the suggestion the GST was linked to heroin was
the most bizarre thing he had heard. 'I want an apology from the ABC
without qualification and I expect to get it,' he said.

An apology was broadcast on ABC radio in Western Australia and the
announcer wrote an apology to Mr Howard. ABC managing director Brian Johns
described the clash as a regrettable incident.

Asked why there was no apology from Senator Bolkus, Mr Beazley said, 'He
believes himself to be misunderstood and his remarks misinterpreted, and
that I think was an entirely appropriate response.

'The Federal Police and the Customs Service were slashed in the first two
Budgets, and their capacity to protect the Australian barrier against the
importation of illegal drugs was substantially hampered,' he said.

Mr Beazley said he did not believe the ABC was biased.

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson