lil angel15
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Brown pushes drugs harm minimisation
October 29, 2007 09:08am
AUSTRALIAN Greens Leader Bob Brown has defended his party's stance on illegal drugs, saying a harm-minimisation approach makes more sense than punishing drug users.
The Greens have been criticised by their political opponents for being too soft on drugs.
Speaking on ABC television yesterday, Family First Senator Steve Fielding said: "It is absolutely outrageous to think that Kevin Rudd would want to preference the Greens, knowing their stance on drugs, free injecting rooms in streets, free heroin.
"Whether there was a deal or not you've got to ask the question why would Labor want to see the Greens holding the balance of power in Australia?
"Most people would think that was absolutely strange that Labor is saying that they're for families, for small business, and want the Greens to hold the balance of power in Australia. That's jumping out of the frying pan into the fire."
But Senator Brown said his party's harm-minimisation approach is based on the best medical expertise across Australia.
"I hate the scourge of drugs but we have to try to get people who are addicted out of that addiction and back into Australian society," he told ABC radio.
Senator Brown said the stance of Family First and the Coalition on drugs is too tough to be effective.
"The problem is that (Family First senator) Steve Fielding and some of the people in the Government are somewhere back in last century with policies which would make the problem a great deal worse in Australia," he said.
"The nastiness of the fundamentalist view-points from the right which wants to punish such people, would add enormously to the cost of Australia and is simply not going to suppress a huge problem which needs to be dealt with through sensible medical, educational and, where there's drug dealing involved, prison outcomes."
News.com.au