Rita Panahi: Weakest link gives Daniel Andrews his way

Crossbench MPs opposing the pandemic Bill have learnt you’re only as strong as your weakest link. Now voters should learn to be more careful in who they choose to represent them.

In the end Dan Andrews got his way. The crossbench MPs found out that you’re only as strong as your weakest link. And, their weakest link was, as predicted, the Transport Matters MP Rod Barton.

The state government’s radical, illiberal Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 will be passed after Barton agreed to support an amended version.

The former limousine driver had vowed that any agreement would have to accommodate the concerns of all crossbench MPs. “It will be a group thing, we are not going to allow them to pick us off one by one,” Mr Barton said last week.

But that seemed to be long forgotten this week as he struck a deal that a number of his crossbench colleagues are bitterly disappointed about.

“The moral question of locking people out of society has never been addressed,” said Liberal Democrat MP David Limbrick on Tuesday. “Even with a few concessions, this updated legislation is still a recipe for a two-tiered society and open-ended social chaos.”

Transport Matters Party MP Rod Barton has proved to be the weakest link for crossbenchers. Picture: Paul Jeffers

Barton claimed that failure to pass the Bill would see Victoria locked out by other states and took credit for a number of minor amendments. “This is a very different beast than what we had previously and we can’t compare where the Bill started from, you can’t compare it with a state of emergency,” he said.

Only it isn’t and some of the six “concessions” are utterly pointless. Take one of the major amendments which will see public health orders reviewed by a parliamentary joint special committee dominated and chaired by crossbench or opposition MPs. This committee could then recommend against pandemic orders but that can only be done through a disallowance motion that would have to pass both houses of parliament.

Given that there is absolutely no chance of Labor MPs crossing the floor to vote against their own government’s public health orders, the entire amendment is a massive waste of time and energy.

Just as disappointing as Barton’s support of the pandemic Bill was the now familiar game of victim politics. Following in the footsteps of the three crossbench MPs who have consistently supported the Andrews government, Barton’s online experiences became the story with the MP copping abusive messages prompting him to change his Twitter account to a private setting, not accessible to users not already following him.

Amendments to Daniel Andrews’ pandemic Bill have been a disappointment. Picture: Paul Jeffers

He should try being a female conservative for 24 hours on Twitter if he wants to see unhinged abuse and threats. That’s why Jack Dorsey invented the block button, Rod. Of course there will be many irate with Barton’s backflip but no one should resort to threatening or defamatory comments. What disgruntled voters should do is be far more careful in who they select to represent them.

As the leader of the opposition in the upper house, David Davis, pointed out, those who voted for Barton are unlikely to be happy with his decision.

“Rod Barton came into parliament to help the taxi industry,” Mr Davis said. “How does this help the taxi industry? More lockdowns for taxis are not going to help.”

Whatever way you look at it, this is a massive win for the Andrews government, and another sorry chapter for transparency and liberty in Victoria.

STATES MUST KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

The Scott Morrison government continues to say one thing and do another in response to Covid-19. From the Prime Minister down we’ve heard multiple ministers and MPs this week argue that there’s no need to be alarmed about the latest coronavirus variant and remind state premiers about the importance of learning to live with the virus and restoring freedoms.

Fine words but then they delayed the arrival of visa holders from December 1 to December 15 and introduced three days of quarantine for all international arrivals, with reports that health officials are considering extending that to 14 days.

Scott Morrison’s government says one thing and does another. Picture: Adam Taylor

This follows the decision to impose border restrictions on a number of countries, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini and Malawi, where the Omicron variant has been detected.

In the media, and among the dial-a-quote experts, the reaction to the latest Covid-19 strain has been bordering on the demented.

On the one hand we have measured infectious disease physicians, including Nick Coatsworth, Clay Golledge and Greg Dore cautioning against panic and pointing out that new variants are not only expected but may be beneficial in tackling Covid-19 particularly if they are more infectious but less virulent. But then there are the Covid-19 catastrophists who never miss an opportunity to ramp up the alarmism and push for illiberal, and ultimately useless policies to tackle a virus that we know will be with us in the long term with many mutations.

A big part of the problem with the current cycle of fear and hysteria is the media who have become addicted to the easy clickbait content that is Covid-19 alarmism.

Australia is among the most vaccinated countries in the world, we are as protected as we are ever going to be, we cannot reimpose restrictions every time a new variant comes along. Living with Covid-19 means allowing individuals to make decisions about their own welfare.

Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist