Broadcast: 23/10/01
Drowning tragedy dragged into election campaign
The drowning tragedy off Indonesia’s coast has generated a heated political row on the campaign trail. The Prime Minster, John Howard, accused Opposition leader Kim Beazley of contemptible behaviour for blaming the deaths on "a failure of government policy". But Mr Beazley says that's twisting his words. But the brawl came on a day when two opinion polls put Labor just a nose behind the Government, and another has it a whisker in front.

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Compere: Tony Jones
Reporter: Gillian Bradford

TONY JONES: The drowning tragedy has generated a heated political row on the campaign trail.

The PM accused the Opposition leader of contemptible behaviour for blaming the deaths on "a failure of government policy".

Mr Beazley says that's twisting his words.

But the brawl came on a day when two opinion polls put Labor just a nose behind the Government, and another has it a whisker in front Gillian Bradford reports.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: Hundreds of people die in an overcrowded boat, probably heading for Australia.

So, how does this event take centre stage in a federal election campaign?

KIM BEAZLEY, OPPOSITION LEADER: And that is a very sad thing indeed.

What it points to is the failure of policy.

We have not got the agreement we need with Indonesia in order to be able to ensure that those who put themselves in such danger are not encouraged to do so.

JOHN HOWARD, PRIME MINISTER: He implied that that happened because of a failure of policy on our part.

I think that is contemptible.

KIM BEAZLEY: He twisted our words and our position on the Tampa legislation and he's twisting our words again.

JOHN HOWARD: He should never have dragged this immense human tragedy into the political arena and I think it was a contemptible thing to do.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: But Mr Howard's own Immigration Minister was doing some finger pointing of his own.

PHILIP RUDDOCK, IMMIGRATION MINISTER: If there is a linkage, it is in the failure to be able to get reforms through which would have addressed this perception of Australia being an easy touch in relation to these matters.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: Not pretty stuff from either side and indicative of how the tone of the campaign will tend to get a bit nastier as the contest looks tighter.

And, today, the two leaders, their parties and the polls are saying the same thing. The Coalition doesn't have an unassailable lead and the election will come down to just a handful of marginal seats, seats like Gladstone in Queensland which the National Party holds by just 0.3 of 1 per cent.

KIM BEAZLEY: Apart from getting our propaganda points across, we're doing a national infrastructure launch today.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: Mr Beazley's propaganda - thanks for being so honest - was announcing $750 million, which will flow to the government from the Snowy River hydro scheme corporatisation, will be used to fund new infrastructure instead of retiring government debt.

Mr Howard's policy launch ended up becoming entwined with the issue of the day.

He announced $175 million of new money to protect Australia's borders, which includes increasing flight surveillance time, expanding the radar network and additional container X-ray machines for Australia's largest ports.

JOHN HOWARD: We have a plan for the future in relation to further strengthening coastwatch.

The Labor Party offers a new bureaucracy and, in the process, do great damage to the Royal Australian Navy.

KIM BEAZLEY: We actually need a straightforward coastguard and the weak, wishy-washy alternative to it that John Howard is putting out today is merely a concession that we are right on that subject and he is wrong.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: Both leaders will continue campaigning in marginal seats tomorrow.

Gillian Bradford, Lateline.