AUSTRALIA MAY RELAX DRUGS POLICY ON RECRUITS

CANBERRA: Australia's military is considering scrapping its tough
anti-drugs policy in order to attract more recruits to the armed forces.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said he was considering scrapping
the rule, saying a person's character and ability should be the main
tests for new defence recruits.

Under current rules, a person is automatically rejected as a recruit
if they admit to having taken illegal drugs. Nelson said that meant
someone who lied about drug use could be accepted, while an honest
person would be rejected.

"I can say no to that (question) myself, but the reality is about
40-45% of the adult population have (tried drugs)," Nelson told a
defence conference yesterday.

In his first major speech since he became defence minister in
January, Nelson said he had taken responsibility for recruitment as
Australia's defence forces struggle to meet recruiting targets in
Australia's tight labour market.

In December, the government announced plans to expand the size of
the army by about 1,500 over 10 years, from its current 42,000
soldiers, including 16,800 reservists.

But with Australia's unemployment rate at near 30-year lows, the
defence forces regularly fail to meet recruiting targets,
particularly in some specialist areas.

Nelson, who was education minister before taking on defence, blamed
schoolteachers for a culture where school leavers did not see the
value of a defence career.

"Unfortunately there is a minority of those in the classroom
teaching children that bring pejorative views to the task, not just
in relation to defence but in relation to non-university based
careers," he said.

- - Reuters