FED: Beazley urges national coordination in drug war

AAP General News (Australia)
04-06-1999
FED: Beazley urges national coordination in drug war

PERTH, April 6 AAP - Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley today unveiled the ALP's
discussion paper on illicit drug use, urging commonwealth coordination to review all existing
drug programs.

Its main points are establishing a nationally coordinated drugs strategy, adopting a
hard-line approach to drug dealers, including making the proceeds of their activities easier
to confiscate, and becoming fully committed to keeping heroin users alive.

"To those who are addicted, to those who are the victims, there must be a 100 per cent
commitment to keeping them alive," Mr Beazley said.

Mr Beazley said drugs were a major national affliction and there was no single solution.

"This is a problem that has to got to be come to grips with," he said.

Mr Beazley said law enforcement played a vital role in the war on drugs, and incentives
needed to be provided to law enforcement agencies and rehabilitation programs.

These should include giving the proceeds of the confiscation of drug dealers' assets
directly to such agencies instead of adding them to consolidated revenue.

He defended the paper's focus on heroin and said it was important to concentrate on the
illicit drug that was killing most Australians.

Mr Beazley said the discussion paper was being released in a bipartisan spirit and he hoped
it would be discussed at the Premier's conference in Canberra on Friday.

AAP alm/trm

KEYWORD: DRUGS (CARRIED EARLIER)

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