Daily News PM's $87m attack on drug lords

By Jodie Brough And David Humphries

The Prime Minister yesterday promised a crackdown on drug bosses, unveiling
an $87.5 million, threeyear strategy including tougher law enforcement,
privately run treatment clinics and antidrug education for schoolchildren.

The funding partly replaces budget cuts made over the last two years, with
$43.8 million to be spent on reducing the supply of illicit drugs into
Australia. It includes $15.5 million for the Australian Federal Police for
54 extra investigative staff, following the loss of about 100 staff in the
last year.

The new agents would form three "strike teams" to target drug syndicates,
Mr Howard said.

A further $29.8 million will be spent on rehabilitation and medical
research, while a "rigorous" $14 million education campaign will teach
young people they should have "zero tolerance" of drugs.

Launching the package in Sydney, Mr Howard promised the threepronged
strategy would be an "integrated and effective national effort" against
illicit drugs. More measures would be announced later, after consultation
with the premiers this week, he said.

"Every parent lives in fear of the impact of drugs," Mr Howard said. "Our
Tough On Drugs strategy provides moral leadership against drugs for our
children's sake."

Mr Howard said he knew the scheme would take time to show results but that
he was "determined to discourage a whole new generation of drug users by
the best means available".

"From young people who have been targetted by drug dealers, to their
families who have had to rebuild broken lives, illgeal drugs have a
devastating effect on us all," he said.

The Opposition Leader, Mr Beazley, said the Howard package was "a single
step after two steps backwards", He said cuts to law enforcement, drug
education and health programs were worth $225 million over the last two years.

Mr Howard said $21.5 million would be spent on new nongovernment treatment
facilities, to be awarded to charities and community organisations through
a tender system. Priority would be given to areas with the greatest need,
with offenders to be diverted from jail to treatment programs.

About $4 million would be spent on research into drug treatment focused on
abstinence, while an extra $1.3 million to fund nonheroin treatment trials
already underway in several States.

The ACT Chief Minister, Mrs Kate Carnell, whose heroin trial forced Mr
Howard's response on drugs, said it was an "important first step" to draw
up a national plan.

Major law enforcement commitments include $7.5 million to increase Customs
inspections of shipping containers in Sydney, which had been limited by
budget cuts, and $7.3 million to improve computer systems. Another $6.7
million will be spent on surveillance in the Torres Strait, with a police
base to be established on Thursday Island and three new highspeed Customs
boats purchased.

The NSW Premier, Mr Carr, expressed disappointment, saying: "After years of
cutting State's programs, a last minute restoration for a publicity
grabbing exercise like this will do only limited good."

New strike forces to hunt cartels Mr Howard announces his $87.5 million
antidrugs package in Randwick yesterday.

By Greg Bearup

A boost of $15.5 million dollars to the Australian Federal Police will
"enhance by 400 per cent" its capacity to pursue major drug cartels,
according to the AFP Commissioner, Mr Mick Palmer.

Last week Mr Palmer said that his organisation only had the resources to
proactively target one major drug syndicate at a time, even though it had
intelligence on as many as six.

Yesterday's additional funding of $15.5 million for strike forces would
allow the AFP to increase the number of concurrent proactive
investigations from one to four.

"I think it is very positive," Mr Palmer said of Mr Howard's announcement.
"It goes a long way towards giving us the capacity that we need ... aimed
at enhancing our capacity to deal with proactive and longterm
intelligencebased investigations beyond the level we have ever had before."

The additional money would allow the recruitment of a further 54
investigators to create an additional three strike forces.

He said that it was estimated that 10 per cent of drugs coming into
Australia were seized and the additional resources gave a "very real
chance" of doubling or trebling that figure.

The strike forces would aim to "take out" the major players, he said,
particularly those involved in heroin importation.

In addition to the $15.5 million for the strike forces, $6.7 million will
be spent to improve surveillance of the Torres Strait with increased
helicopter flying hours, an established police presence on Thursday Island
and the purchase of three highpowered pursuit boats for Customs.

A further $7.3 million will be spent to establish a proper communication
network between law enforcement agencies to exchange information.

In recent years the AFP has been hit hard by budget cuts and Mr Palmer said
yesterday's announcements were outside the normal budget considerations.
"The wider issue of the AFP resources is being addressed quite separately
and quite appropriately in other budget discussions," Mr Palmer said.

Mr Howard also announced yesterday that the Australian Customs Service
would get $7.5 million over three years to enhance its cargo profiling
system and to buy the latest xray equipment and particle analysers. It
will also receive $1.5 million for intelligence analysis.

Mr Stuart Bell, from the Customs section of the Community and Public
Service Union, said yesterday that he welcomed Mr Howard's announcement but
said Customs had also been subjected to severe budget cuts in recent years.

"It gives us some more boats and gives us some more money for analysts and
extra equipment, but it does not make up for the loss of 300 people who
were retrenched last year," Mr Bell said.

"I welcome the statement, but obviously it has a long way to go."

The Herald sought comment from the NSW Police Commissioner, Mr Peter Ryan,
on the effect that Mr Howard's strategy would have in NSW.

However, his office did not return the calls.