Pubdate: Thu, 17 Aug 2006
Source: Age, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2006 The Age Company Ltd
Contact:  http://www.theage.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5
Author: Paul Austin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

BAILLIEU URGED TO DRUG TEST SCHOOL STUDENTS

LIBERAL leader Ted Baillieu is being urged to introduce  drug testing 
in secondary schools if he wins November's  state election.

The Liberals' state council meeting this weekend will  debate a 
resolution calling on a Baillieu government to  order government 
schools to conduct "health tests" to  detect whether students are using drugs.

The South Yarra branch of the party, which will move  the resolution, 
has circulated a supporting statement  to delegates which says: "The 
use of illicit drugs is  escalating to the extent that we must do 
more to detect  its early use, because many parents are the last 
to  know their child is rapidly becoming addicted to  drugs." The 
branch says abuse of illicit drugs leads to  hundreds of deaths and 
costs the Federal Government  about $6.1 billion a year. It cites 
federal Health Department research showing that 36 per cent of 12 
to  17-year-olds surveyed had used cannabis, "a drug that  leads to 
the use of harder drugs such as ecstasy,  speed, LSD, heroin and cocaine".

Saturday's council meeting will also debate a  potentially 
contentious resolution calling for the  tenure of judges to be 
reviewed every seven years.

The Numurkah branch will tell delegates that sentences  are often 
shorter than the community wants, and it is  time members of the 
judiciary were "brought to  account".

"A review panel, representative of our society, is  suggested as one 
way of ensuring sentencing approaches  match community expectations," it says.

Other resolutions scheduled for debate include calls  for a Baillieu 
government to:

!Make big cuts to land tax, because "this tax which used to be a 
minor impost is today a major overhead".

!Reduce stamp duty charges on the purchase of the principal family 
home, because "every other state has lower stamp duty taxes" and 
"owning a house allows financial security and reduces dependency on 
welfare later in life".

!Install flashing lights or boom gates at every rail crossing in the 
state over the course of its first four-term term in office.

!Install flashing electronic variable speed limit signs outside schools.

!Instruct the state Education Department to set up a central 
counselling service for primary students who refuse to go to school, 
because "children with learning difficulties who begin to hate school 
need special support after five days of not attending".

!Encourage better driving by reducing the provisional licence period 
by 12 months for young people who complete a defensive driving course.

!Boost funding to Victorian parks, in contrast to the Bracks 
Government's "miserly" attitude.

The council meeting, the last before the November 25 election, will 
hear speeches from Mr Baillieu and the most senior federal Liberal 
from Victoria, Treasurer Peter Costello.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom