The Wire

On Sunday, John Howard announced the next step in the government’s “Tough on Drugs” approach to drug abuse. If the Coalition is re-elected next week they will quarantine welfare payments of people convicted of criminal drug offences. The plan allows for 100 percent of welfare benefits to be managed by a government agency. Mr Howard says this will ensure that welfare money will only be spent on food and other necessities. The Government’s advisory body, the Australian National Council on Drugs, are unsure of the viability of the new measures. And advocacy groups have condemned the policy as extending dependency on welfare whilst doing nothing to rehabilitate drug users.