HOWARD LAUNCHES NEW "TOUGH ON DRUGS" POLICY

The Coalition announced yesterday that it would partly reverse cutbacks to
the Federal Police and Customs after claims that these agencies were losing
the fight against illicit drug imports.

The launch of a new "tough on drugs" policy in Perth continues the theme in
the Howard campaign of "security and stability". It follows policy
announcements this week on crime, relationship counselling and women's
policies.

The Prime Minister said an additional $75 million over four years would
bolster resources to fight drug trafficking while also improving community
treatment services and education in schools about drugs.

The package is on top of the $215 million "tough on drugs" program which Mr
Howard said was already the single biggest anti-drug initiative undertaken
in Australia.

But Mr Howard was put on the defensive when asked about cutbacks to police
and the Customs Service over the past two years.

The shadow attorney-general, Senator Nick Bolkus, said the Government had
cut $417 million out of Commonwealth law enforcement in 1996 and 1997. He
suggested this had depleted resources for fighting drug importation and had
in turn led to a fall in the price of a cap of heroin from $40 to as little
as $5.

Senator Bolkus then implied that Mr Howard was responsible for an increased
number of drug-related deaths in Perth, from 19 in 1996 to 60 in 1997.

He issued a press statement headed "John Howard's drug legacy - 60 dead in
Perth alone".

Mr Howard rejected this assertion and called on the Opposition Leader, Mr
Beazley, to reprimand Senator Bolkus. He described the remark as a "cheap
gutter jibe" and said Australian people had "disgust" for political
point-scoring on drugs.

Mr Howard likened the claim to earlier attacks on him by the shadow
treasurer, Mr Gareth Evans, for "bashing blackfellas", and comments by the
Aboriginal affairs spokesman, Mr Daryl Melham, who likened the Government's
handling of the Wik debate to the attitude of the Ku Klux Klan.

Mr Howard said that while Mr Beazley was a "civil man, his minions are
running amok". He called on Mr Beazley to show "authority and strength" and
"have a quiet word" with Senator Bolkus.

Mr Howard acknowledged that cuts had been made to Commonwealth law agencies
but said the new funding went "far, far beyond any of those [cuts]". He also
claimed that drug enforcement was quarantined from the cutbacks.

Senator Bolkus, however, said the Howard Government would spend $200 million
less on Commonwealth law enforcement than if Labor's 1995-96 funding levels
had been maintained. Mr Howard also advocated "zero tolerance" towards drugs
in schools and claimed that an attempt by a public school in Castle Hill to
take that approach had been overturned by the NSW Department of Education.

The Prime Minister said he totally opposed the trials of legal heroin
proposed by the ACT Government.

Checked-by: Don Beck