Fed: Howard stirring death penalty debate - Brown

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Fed: Howard stirring death penalty debate - Brown

CANBERRA, Aug 19 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard was stirring the death penalty issueeven though he said he was opposed to it, Greens Senator Bob Brown said today.

But Australians already had that debate and did not want execution to return, Senator Brown said.

A Newspoll published in The Australian today found, despite outlawing death penaltythree decades ago, 56 per cent of Australians favoured the reintroduction of the deathpenalty for major acts of terrorism committed in Australia.

"Part of Australia's culture now, part of Australia's morality, is they are, aftera long and turbulent debate - and I'm old enough to remember it - to have gotten rid ofthe death penalty," Senator Brown told reporters.

"In think the prime minister has stirred this along. I think, inherently, the primeminister would support it, even though he says he doesn't.

"His call for a debate on it is simply to give the dog a kick and get it up and running."

Senator Brown said the Greens totally opposed the death penalty.

"Again, it's one of those issues where Mr Howard might feel a bit at home in Chinabecause it has the second biggest judicial killing in the world after the United States,"

he said.

"It's something we certainly don't want to see brought back into Australia."

AAP dep/maur/bwl

KEYWORD: TERROR POLL BROWN