Piers Akerman: Be wary of those who seek to manipulate tragedies

Looking to 2021, we must be ­extremely wary of those who seek to manipulate the tragedies of the past year and incorporate them in a new self-serving and woke narrative, Piers Akerman writes.

Beams of light are piercing the pall of gloom that descended over the world following the arrival of the coronavirus in Wuhan.

The countdown to 2021 is well under way, and when the New Year dawns on Friday the hardships of the past year should provide a launching pad to a brighter future.

First, despite the handbrake ­applied to the nation by the criminally negligent Victorian government, which was responsible for the deaths of 801 people – nearly twice as many casualties as we lost in the Vietnam War – and the petty partisanship of the Queensland and Western Australian premiers, most of us have shown an enormous resilience in the face of the unexpected catastrophe.

Health workers combined Christmas accessories with personal protective equipment in the Intensive Care Unit at Ayeyarwady Covid Centre in Mandalay, Myanmar. Picture: Ye Aung Thu/AFP

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews’ failure and the lack of accountability he has tacitly endorsed is beyond reprehensible.

The re-election of Queensland’s Annastacia Palaszczuk reflects poorly on the standards of the electorate.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian narrowly escaped the disgrace that should have befallen her because of her obvious conflicts and tangled personal affairs and owes thanks to the belated rescue of the state’s quarantining regimen following the farcical handling of the Ruby Princess.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison should similarly be grateful to the virus for permitting him to put his Hawaiian holiday behind him and look like a leader, although his misjudged slamming of former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate and his subsequent shameful failure to ­release the report clearing her of wrongdoing makes him look petty and weak.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

His risk-averse approach to government was most telling in the minor cabinet reshuffle, and were it not for Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s obvious weakness and fractured party, it is unlikely Morrison would be polling as strongly as he is this far out from an election.

Though doubts hang over the ­national cabinet, particularly as its recommendations were ignored by premiers when it suited them, it does appear to be less bureaucratically controlled than COAG.

Looking to 2021, we must be ­extremely wary of those who seek to manipulate the tragedies of the past year and incorporate them in a new self-serving and woke narrative.

From the Aboriginal industry, which plays politics while failing to protect and encourage Aboriginal children in remote communities, to the Left, which is calling for a “reset” to overturn Western culture and history — and most emphatically the values that shaped our nation.

Ex-Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate was cleared of wrongdoing. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

The hysterical calls about climate extinction designed to frighten us into killing what remains of our ­industry would only ensure massive wealth ­redistribution and leave us poorer and less equipped into the future.

That our universities, a handful of self-anointed captains of industry, members of the Labor Party and some idiots in the Liberal Party are aboard this apocalyptic juggernaut demonstrates a woeful ignorance of science and a dismaying refusal to examine the facts openly and without rancour.

Incivility, as we have seen repeatedly through the violent demonstrations staged by the Marxist-inspired Black Lives Matter movement, the looting and the arson, and the mindless disruptions caused by the global warmist zealots, is now part of the wokists’ playbook.

Those who threaten and bully only succeed to a point, and that point is reached when the appeasers realise that giving into intimidation only fuels the ambitions of wannabe ­oppressors.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Picture: Paul Grover/AFP

The Christmas Eve signing of a Brexit deal by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a welcome indication that perseverance in the struggle for a righteous cause is worth the battle.

The UK will finally cut ties with the EU’s red tape, rules and activist judges, as promised in the historic 2016 referendum 1645 days ago, while allowing business and trade to flourish around the globe.

Freeing Britain from the grasp of unelected bureaucrats and restoring sovereignty is a major and empowering step forward.

And as US President Donald Trump’s days in the White House dwindle to a precious few, credit must be given to his foreign policy initiatives, especially in the Middle East where he succeeded in establishing an accord between a growing number of Arab nations and Israel.

Happily, here and elsewhere, the people have shown themselves in ­almost all respects to be better than the politicians who claim to have their best interests at heart.

With Aussie wine and crayfish blacklisted by the Chinese, let’s celebrate 2021 in style.