Pat Farmer is a regular guy, a
long-distance runner who jogged onto the middle-bench as parliamentary
secretary for education, science and training. He’s now taken an
interest in an issue of concern to all parents: the drugs-in-schools
crisis. And his solution is deceptively simple – pretend it’s not
happening.

“One and All is a drug education kit for
teachers with model activities that deliberately leave out the word
‘drugs’,” Mr Farmer announces in this enlightening media release.

“The
whole idea,” explains Farmer “is to teach children how to cope with the
many challenges they face in school, like bullying, rejection and
conflict.” By, er, ignoring the elephant in the lounge room.

Or as blogger Mr Grumpy puts it in his examination of the issue: “This could turn out to be the world’s worst game of political charades.”

How Farmer’s “don’t mention the war” strategy squares with the Liberal Party’s hardline election promise of getting tough on drugs is anyone’s guess.