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.