Piers Akerman: We need soldiers to enforce Sydney lockdown

No wonder the Army has been called in to Sydney, we’ve been fed fear filtered by opportunists, Piers Akerman writes.

Eighteen months into the Wuhan flu pandemic and there is more confusion now than there was when the Chinese Communist Party started its first lockdown while permitting super spreaders to travel abroad.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison acted quickly to close the borders to China but ever since he initiated the ludicrous national cabinet there hasn’t been a clear, unequivocal, statement from the federal government which has not subsequently been amended or withdrawn.

Under the latest iteration announced Friday, Australia is now at Stage One. International flight arrivals were halved from July 14 (ironically the anniversary of Bastille Day when French revolutionaries released criminals and lunatics from Paris’ principal prison).

Vaccinations have been ramped up but due to idiotic remarks about AstraZeneca from Queensland’s chief health officer Jeanette Young (already named as that state’s next governor), and others, fear of vaccines has reached the point that some people are preferring to wait until Pfizer or other vaccines are available.

There are currently 1.7 million people fully vaccinated (I took AstraZeneca as soon as I was eligible) but under Morrison’s national reopening plan, there needs to be a further 10.7 million, taking vaccinated to 70 per cent of the population, before life may return to any semblance of normal.

In the second stage, there will be some easing of restrictions but as usual, the modelling hasn’t been released and the public hasn’t a clue of how many people will have to be vaccinated for the more onerous conditions to be lifted.

This lack of transparency about the modelling shaping the shifting policies has been a feature of the virus mismanagement.

NSW Police will be joined by 300 Australian Defence Force personnel to conduct compliance operations across Sydney. Picture: NSW Police Force

When we reach an unknown number of vaccinated, the Wuhan flu will be treated like any other infectious disease, the flu or measles, and there should be no lockdowns and the vaccinated will be free to travel domestically and internationally.

As the information about the efficacy of the vaccines is still extremely sketchy, there is a likelihood that booster shots will probably be necessary.

The final phase is back to life as normal – which will see the universities again reaping huge profits from foreign students – with no caps on arrivals and no quarantine for vaccinated travellers.

Ambitious, yes, and given the abysmal records of every state government and the federal government to manage this pandemic with any clarity, the time frame to achieve normalcy of mid-2022 seems a pipe dream.

That the nation is more divided than it has been since before the states and territories came together as a federation is dismally obvious.

With 28 rule changes in 36 days, the confusion about the dysfunctional virus management strategy is such that the NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller – not Premier Gladys Berejiklian – asked the federal government for back-up support from the military in some Sydney suburbs with a high proportion of residents who are apparently unable or unwilling to understand the rushed regulations governing lockdowns.

Incredibly, unvaccinated troops will be used in the suburbs where the highly infectious Delta variant has been most active.

We have also been asked to overlook the inability of these residents to follow instructions on the grounds that they may be from war-torn areas where there is a natural fear of people in uniform, or even authority.

The increased resourcing is intended to allowing police to check on more individuals who were subject to self-isolation orders. Picture: NSW Police Force

Seventy years ago, when the nation was accepting refugees from war-torn Europe, no allowance was made for the possibility that they would not co-operate with the authorities and there were few problems because most seemed grateful for the opportunity to begin a new life in a new country.

Each of the governments has to accept responsibility for the mangled messaging that has created confusion and perpetuated the spreading of the virus.

That the disastrous lack of clear communication has proved to be a major factor in prolonging the frustration of Australians who want to do the right thing and return to a normal, productive life is an indictment on those in office and the thousands of so-called media professionals employed to help elected officials and bureaucrats convey clear, concise messages.

We have not been getting the best health advice from the prime minister, the premiers, chief ministers or chief health officers.

We’ve been fed fear filtered by political opportunists. No wonder the army has been called upon to put down the uninformed insurrection.