Subjects: Heroin trials; Middle East; Afghanistan; Queen Mother; Zimbabwe.
E&OE...........
BARETTA:
Prime Minister, good morning to you and welcome to Sunrise.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning.
BARETTA:
Tell us, it';s been five years now since you launched the Tough on Drugs program. Has there been any change in your hard line stand on the heroin issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think the good news of the last five years, particularly of the last two years, is that there has been the beginnings of a decline in the death rate from heroin overdosing, and many of the other measures of the Government';s Tough on Drugs strategy have started to work. Now, we have to be cautious about the fall in the death rate. It';s only been evidenced over a period of two years, and some of it is due to supply shortages coming from source countries, particularly Burma. But some of it is also due to the great success of the Australian Federal Police, the Customs Service and the State Police working together, have had in interdicting and stopping vast supplies of heroin coming into Australia. So whilst I';m not in any sense declaring victory, and I understand how these things can change, the good news which is so often unreported, in many cases never mentioned when media programmes are done on the drug problem, the good news is that the death rate from heroin has fallen. The other good news is that there is clear evidence in the surveys of the Bureau of Statistics that the campaign, the pamphlet booklet campaign that we launched more than a year ago into Australian homes, has been extremely successful and a large majority of parents have indicated that that material helped them and encouraged them to talk more to their children about the drug issue.
BARETTA:
Prime Minister, you';re – you';re saying the news is so good that you simply wouldn';t consider heroin trials?
PRIME MINISTER:
My objection to heroin trials is not only based on the relative success of current policies but also on a fundamental belief that heroin trials don';t solve the problem; can send the wrong signals; ignore the experience of other countries which has been more mixed than the advocates of heroin trials would suggest. I';m not alone incidentally in opposing a heroin trial. I understand that one or two of the Premiers have also said that whilst they might, for example, support heroin injecting rooms, they don';t support heroin trials. And I';m not alone. People choose to call it in a simplistic way, a hardline stance. Our Tough on Drugs strategy has three elements. We want to punish – capture and punish – the drug pushers. We want to educate young people out of starting the drug habit, and we want to provide resources for rehabilitation for people who want to kick the habit. It';s an equally balanced programme, and no Federal Government in Australia';s history has put more money into fighting the drug menace on those three fronts and whilst, I repeat, I';m not for a moment claiming that the campaign has been completed and has been won, we';re a long way from that, but we are having more success than the perennial critics would have us believe – and have the public believe.
BARETTA:
Alright, Mr Howard, let';s move overseas now. The Middle East. Israel, as we speak, as you know, is at flash point right now. George Bush has been criticised for not doing enough. Do you think the international community could be doing more here?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it';s very difficult because short of invading the whole area, and occupying it, and physically separating the combatants, the international community is left to diplomatic pressure. The tragedy is that the offer made more than 18 months ago by the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, which involved about 80 to 90 percent of what the Palestinians wanted, was not taken up. There was a point in the year 2000 when peace appeared very close, and major concessions had been offered by Israel. Now unfortunately, that offer wasn';t taken up and we now have this terrible descent into what is probably the worst situation the area has been in for 40 or 50 years. And it is distressing. There is clearly a need for both sides to recognise the rights of the others. Israel has an undeniable right to exist behind secure and defensible and recognised and respected boundaries. Equally, the people of Palestine are entitled to a homeland and they have rights and they have legitimate aspirations. And somehow through the terrible carnage that';s now taking place, a way has to be found. Everybody has a role internationally in exerting influence and exhorting peace and common sense. But in the end, as with all of these disputes, the key to a solution lies in the attitude in the hearts and the minds of the combatants.
BARETTA:
Mr Howard, let';s move east to that other major region in crisis – Afghanistan. This morning you fly off to Perth to welcome home some of our soldiers who have been fighting there on the ground. Tell us – as you know, obviously we';ve sent more troops into that area. How long will our commitment last there?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it will last for so long as it';s needed to root out and disperse the terrorist capacity in Afghanistan. I can';t put a month on it. The campaign is not over. I';ll be welcoming back units of our SAS, who have done an absolutely magnificent job. And I know that I will speak for all Australians in expressing our gratitude to them for what they have done, the bravery they have displayed, the high esteem they have won for themselves and the respect they have gathered for our country. We';ll continue there for so long as is necessary, and as to how long that will be – at this moment, I can';t say, any more than I believe the Americans can say precisely how long they believe they';re going to be in Afghanistan.
BARETTA:
Lets look at that other major news event of the last few days of course, the death of the Queen Mother. Now, you will be attending that funeral along with your wife Janette. We haven';t seen a Prime Minister attend a royal funeral since Mr Menzies in 1952. Why is this one so important to you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it';s not so much whether it';s important to me. I think the Queen Mother represented a particular place in the affections of a section of the Australian community, people who remember the experiences of World War II. She lived a quite remarkable life and there hasn';t quite been in the experience of the Royal family, there hasn';t been an event such as this for a long time. I don';t think precedents matter on an issue like this. It';s a question of what is appropriate and I formed a view that it was appropriate that I represent Australia and whilst I';m there I';ll have the opportunity of talking amongst other people, to the New Zealand Prime Minister and perhaps also the Canadian Prime Minister if he';s there, about the latest situation in Zimbabwe. Occasions such as this, as well as being ceremonial, are also opportunities, in the margins, to have some very useful discussions. But I won';t be there for very long, I';ll be turning around almost immediately and coming back but I think it';s appropriate and as I say – there hasn';t quite been an event, indeed a person such as this in the Royal family';s situation for a very long time.
BARETTA:
As you mentioned there, you';ll be talking and meeting with other Commonwealth leaders about Zimbabwe. There';s been a lot of talk in the last few days about their participation in the Commonwealth Games. Obviously that';s a decision at the end of the day for the Federation but can you and other leaders put pressure on that Federation, and would you consider doing that to prevent Zimbabwe taking part in the Games?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it';s a difficult issue that, because you try to some degree to keep the administration of sport separate and apart from politics and you try and allow sports bodies to take their own decisions. But my suspicion is that pressure on Zimbabwe';s participation will grow rather than diminish and some of the remarks that have been attributed to Zimbabwean President Mugabe, in recent days haven';t helped the climate. It';s not as if he';s apparently responded in a conciliatory fashion, he appears on the face of it to have done the reverse. In the end it will a decision for the Games Federation as it was way back in 1980 for the Moscow Olympic Games for the Iinternational Olympic Committee and the individual bodies. But I predict that pressure is going to grow on the Commonwealth Federation regarding Zimbabwe';s participation.
BARETTA:
John Howard, thank you very much for joining us this morning on Sunrise. Good to talk to you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]