ADDICT'S PARENTS GIVE HOWARD A LESSON IN HOPE

A TALE of one family's despairing struggle against the evils of drug
addiction, yesterday brought an expected dose of reality to John Howard's
Father's Day.

The Prime Minister was visibly moved by "Ted" and "Margaret's" emotional
plea for help in their seven-year battle to wean their daughter off heroin.

For a moment, sanitised election campaigning gave way to the stark
illustration of human frailty. Mr Howard listened intently as he clasped
the hands of the couple while his upset wife, Janette, kissed both on the
cheek.

Ted and Margaret introduced themselves to the Howards as Mr Howard
campaigned in MatHand, New South Wales, in the heart or the Liberal Party's
most marginal seat.

Electioneering put briefly aside, Mr Howard heard how the couple's daughter
fell victim to heroin aged 14.

"Drug addiction has no social barriers," Ted said. "It can happen to you
whether you are rich or poor."

"It's gone from bad to worse and she now has a habit of $130 a day."

In desperation, the couple have built a new home in the mountains far from
Newcastle, with all its burgeoning drug problems.

The house has a special section where Ted and Margaret tried desperately -
and without any expert knowledge - to guide their daughter through 10
harrowing days of detoxification.

"All you can do is hold them, hug them, kiss them and tell them how much
you love them," a tearful Margaret said.

Ted said parents were not equipped to deal with a child on heroin.

The couple's request to Mr Howard was simple - provide more money and
assistance for parents to do their bit in combating the drug problem.

"The fact is that we have run out of petrol," Ted said. "But Mr Howard
sympathised and said he would try to help us."

Later, Mr Howard told the Herald Sun: "I have a very deep personal Interest
in this issue." "We have put record resources into drug rehabilitation,
education and law enforcement."

The government last year announced a $215 million four-year program called
"Tough on Drugs" aimed at cutting the supply of drugs into Australia.

Mr Howard was at the centre of a storm last year when he put an end to the
controversial ACT heroin trials.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan