Piers Akerman: PM Scott Morrison has risen to the challenge of the coronavirus
If you listen to social media and Twitter, you’d think the coronavirus is the end of the world. Thank goodness our government responses are based on expert economic and medical advice, not on the ABC’s wishful thinking, writes Piers Akerman.
NSW
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“I don’t want to sugar-coat the situation. But easy times don’t forge character, tough times forge character and that is what we’re seeing now.”
These aren’t the words of an Australian politician, they’re the thoughts of New York State’s Governor Andrew Cuomo, but they apply equally to the responses we’ve seen globally as politicians struggle with the challenge posed by the lethal Wuhan coronavirus.
We’ve seen some rise to meet the threat and we’ve seen many falter and collapse into petty parochial partisan irrelevance.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has demonstrated once again that he lacks the character to lead a party let alone a government with continued displays of poor judgment.
He may as well be taking his cue from the hapless ABC, where new recruit David Speers showed that he is now firmly in the monolithic national broadcaster’s Leftist mould with his inane questioning of Prime Minister Scott Morrison last Sunday.
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Much of the interview was devoted to theoretical questions which could only alarm casual viewers, such as false comparisons with the health systems in Europe, the potential for food and medical supply shortages, and so on.
But his silliest question he kept until last: Would Mr Morrison think of putting Mr Albanese “on your National Cabinet”?
As Mr Morrison patiently explained: “National Cabinet is made up of executive leaders of governments. It’s not a cabinet of parliaments. It’s a cabinet of governments.”
That wasn’t good enough for the Leftist ABC’s new star, though, who pressed the point, asking “Would it get more bipartisanship?”
Again, Mr Morrison demonstrated a high degree of tolerance, spelling out the mechanism of the National Cabinet process thus: “Well, there are five Labor members of the National Cabinet and there are four Liberal. It doesn’t get any more bipartisan than that.
“And the unanimous view of the National Cabinet is it has to be governments because it’s governments that are making decisions. It’s governments that are providing payroll tax relief or changing tenancy laws. And it is a good, tight group. It’s working well together.
“It’s going to have disagreements from time to time. But I tell you what, I’m glad it’s there and I’ll be working night and day to keep it there. It’s not going to agree on everything. But I can tell you, it is making a big difference and it’s acting with a unity of spirit.”
The ABC is not a fan of national unity however.
As an organisation it looks to divide the nation into groups by identity.
No matter how small a minority, no matter how meaningless they be in the big scheme, they will find a voice on the taxpayer-funded broadcast network.
Crises do reveal character and, so far, in these still early days of the Chinese-sourced pandemic, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has shown a disappointing lack of integrity.
Her failure to honestly address the failure of her administration to prevent the dispersal of coronavirus sufferers from the Ruby Princess validated suspicions that she is critically deficient in true leadership skills.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet now rivals his Premier in undermining the national effort with his resistance to the plan agreed at the National Cabinet meeting to house new arrivals in quarantine in secure hotels.
The planmay yet explode into a funding row, with Mr Perrottet refusing to pay for interstate residents who fly home via Sydney.
Premier Berejiklian will have to pull him into line or wear further ignominy.
What is it that these NSW politicians — and the federal Opposition Leader — don’t understand about national crises?
COVID-19 What happened this week
PM Morrison, despite the poisonous heckling from the ABC,is doing an outstanding job.
We will come through this, of that there is no doubt, but it will be rough on many on the way through. But our group experience is not akin to that the nation underwent during either of the world wars of the past century.
It may seem so because of social media and the Twitterverse, but then it must be remembered that the arrogant Twitter generation until recently believed it didn’t need to tap the vast resource of accumulated knowledge.
Our national governmental responses are based on expert economic and medical advice, not on the ABC’s wishful thinking.
As Anzac Day approaches, we would all do well to reflect on the national spirit that was forged through sacrifice and selflessness.