Pubdate: Wed, 21 Mar 2001
Source: Age, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2001 The Age Company Ltd
Contact:  250 Spencer Street, Melbourne, 3000, Australia
Website: http://www.theage.com.au/
Forum: http://forums.f2.com.au/login/login.asp?board=TheAge-Talkback
Author: Alan Atwood

THE DAY THE POLITICIANS SAT SILENT TO HEAR OF LIVES TRASHED

Many years ago a young policeman named Neil Comrie and an even 
younger youth worker, Peter Wearne, used to see each other at 
funerals. Mr Wearne recalls the pair of them standing on either side 
of a 15-year-old's grave, Mr Comrie "with tears in his eyes as they 
buried another child that should never have died".

They were in the same place again yesterday, this time the Victorian 
Parliament. The recently retired police chief commissioner, in a dark 
suit instead of his customary uniform, and the long-haired youth 
worker, in open-necked shirt and shorts, were speakers at the joint 
parliamentary sitting on drugs.

Mr Wearne says it was the former commissioner who put his name 
forward as a participant in the historic sitting. The two of them - 
ostensibly so different but in accord on the drugs issue - were the 
stand-out speakers as politicians had to sit quietly and listen to 
others within in their own house.

Upper and lower house members squeezed together on padded benches 
heard Mr Comrie tell them, politely but firmly, that they were part 
of the problem themselves. Politics stifled action, he said, so much 
so that "the political process is no longer appropriate to deal with 
the critical issue of drug abuse".

But they also heard Mr Wearne insist that they were all grappling 
with a problem that does have a solution. Politicians, he said, were 
representatives of the community. They knew about pain and despair in 
the community; about a system that is "punishing and invalidating 
many young people". He talked about validating young people rather 
than blaming them; finding ways to fix trashed lives.

And politicians listened. There was a dramatic contrast between the 
scene in the Legislative Assembly chamber during the last 
quarter-hour of question time and then the joint sitting. The usual 
childish interjections gave way to respectful, at times almost 
chastened, silence from MPs as the eight invited speakers addressed 
them on an afternoon when the pillars of Parliament House were 
decorated with orange banners for Harmony Day.

The speakers represented different fronts in the battle against 
drugs. Even their dress reflected this as, with parliamentary pomp, 
they were led into the house and took their seats under chandeliers. 
David Brunt wore his Salvation Army uniform. Catholic Archbishop 
George Pell was in clerical black. Peter Wearne in shorts had more in 
common with other youth workers, such as former footballer Jim 
Stynes, who had gathered in the public gallery and at times seemed 
bored by the recitation of statistics they had almost certainly heard 
many times before.

Before the sitting, one Liberal MP had suggested that politicians 
might be "all talked out on drugs". The danger was that this would be 
just another talkfest in a setting conducive to overblown rhetoric.

The first speaker, Dr David Penington, sounded a little weary. He 
recalled issuing a warning five years before in the same venue of a 
likely transition from cannabis use to heroin. Sadly, he said, this 
is exactly what had happened. He also expressed frustration with a 
media that often took no interest in initiatives unless they involved 
controversy.

Mr Comrie began with a litany of statistics: a seven-fold increase in 
heroin-related deaths; 70 per cent of major crime being drug-related. 
The community, he said, was frightened, frustrated and confused. 
People wanted to see strong leadership on the issue, but progress had 
been blocked by conflicting views.

Then came what sounded like a cry from the heart: "We cannot allow 
political, moral or religious differences to stifle action. The 
wellbeing of a future generation is in our hands." He spoke in a 
chamber that has echoed to acrimonious debate on issues such as 
injecting rooms. To Mr Comrie, that is an argument about treatment 
models. "We have identified the issues we cannot agree upon," he 
said. It was time to focus on ways of preventing addiction.

Which is exactly what Peter Wearne talked about, many speakers and 
statistics later. He spoke about social issues and traumas that 
pushed people towards drugs. About the importance of families and 
support groups. Of the necessity for young people to have a sense of 
hope and some options. And the politicians sat quietly and listened.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer