Daniel Wills: Life will never be the same after coronavirus. Leaders are being tested now, and more will be demanded when its over
Morrison and Marshall suddenly find their mettle tested like Australia’s wartime leaders in a new world where ideology is irrelevant, State Political Editor Daniel Wills writes.
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Life will never be the same, even after this coronavirus crisis passes. Time will be divided into two periods – before and after COVID-19.
In the living memory of most people, the only close comparisons are the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the global financial crisis. But here, both the security threat and economic hit are coming at once. And they’re arriving right on our doorstep – not on a battlefield or stock market in some relatively distant part of the globe.
Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese put it best this week, telling parliament: “Most of our lives have not been directly affected by war, hunger or financial strife.
“They were stories our parents and grandparents told us.
“We listened to those stories and we pictured them in black and white.
“We now face an enormous threat and it’s in colour.”
Everyday life on the other side of this will change significantly. There is likely to be a much greater awareness that catastrophic things do happen, a new but shapeless fear of the unknown, and a permanent work-from-home revolution that will alter family life and even the city design.
How that manifests itself in our politics – the meeting place of a community’s wants, hopes and fears – is completely unpredictable.
The health challenge is the most immediate and grave. The outlook changes by the day, and the success of practical local actions will be essential in defeating a global enemy.
When put under the microscope, SA’s early response gives some hope that the worst-case scenario, of a kind that has been seen in Europe and now appears to be developing in the US, can be avoided here.
The rate of testing in SA has been exceptional. When compared to other parts of the globe, we are in the absolute top bracket of jurisdictions in terms of tests undertaken per capita, and conducting them at a rate of about twice the national average.
That strong data gives local decision-makers, including SA Health chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier, the tools they need to make the very best decisions.
But, even with the state borders effectively closed, we are still captive to the consequences of decisions taken in other parts of Australia. The unforgivable mess that was the docking of the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney is being held responsible for more than two dozen SA cases.
Clinicians also hope that rapid improvements will be made to treatment, particularly antiviral drugs that could lessen the severity of a coronavirus sickness, as SA and Australia learn grim lessons from other countries that have been forced to go early to the frontline.
Where that all finishes, and how many local lives can be saved, is beyond anyone’s power to predict.
Hopefully, a vaccine will be found, proven and produced en masse within 12 months, making the coronavirus threat something like the flu.
But some of the massive decisions taken this week on social-distancing and business closures, which have caused huge displacement and absolutely gutting scenes outside Centrelink offices and the shop fronts of small businesses, will leave a legacy that looks somewhat clearer.
State and federal governments have already committed jaw-dropping amounts of money as they seek to cushion the blow to businesses and workers. But they also concede there are limits to their powers.
The number of people out of work will rise steeply. That sacrifice threatens to fall most heavily on those who can least afford to bear it, including the already relatively low-paid. Many of them won’t find a job immediately when restrictions are lifted. Some may never do so.
We are currently in the operational phase of the crisis. Much like fighting a bushfire, it’s about the practical deployment of limited resources, and is mostly being run by people with particular expertise.
There are matters where the advice differs and politicians need to make calls – on schools, for example – but they’ve been fairly limited.
Political ideology has, thankfully, been relegated to irrelevance. The National Cabinet has more Labor members than Liberal, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s current economic policy isn’t far from that of US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.
When we reach the recovery, communities will look to their leaders for a vision and a plan. That won’t be something for which politicians can defer responsibility.
In a year’s time, just as we begin gearing up for elections both state and federal, there is likely to be a lot of grief and concern.
Premier Steven Marshall and Mr Morrison will have depleted much of their financial resources, with stimulus packages and bailouts.
They are the closest we have seen to wartime leaders. Their mettle is being tested now. Leadership will only become tougher and more essential as the months and years pass.