SYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) - Staunch U.S. ally Australia accused France on Monday of being obstructionist and hypocritical in threatening to use its veto to kill a U.N. Security Council resolution authorising war on Iraq.

Stepping up his rhetoric against French opposition to a U.S. assault on Iraq, conservative Prime Minister John Howard said President Jacques Chirac's affirmation over the weekend that France still intended to use its veto was inconsistent.

Howard said Paris had backed the earlier Resolution 1441 threatening Iraq with dire consequences if it failed to get rid of its alleged weapons of mass destruction and it was clear Baghdad had not complied.

He said Paris had also acknowledged that the U.S. military build-up in the Gulf had pressured Iraqi President Saddam Hussein into improving his cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors.

» Reuters AlertNet - Australia attacks France again over Iraq veto vow