Susie O’Brien: Why Dan’s false freedoms are not enough for Victorians
Despite restrictions easing, there isn’t much to celebrate in Victoria. Experts say we have a one in a million chance of getting the virus, yet five million of us are still locked down, proving the government has lost sight of what it’s trying to achieve, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
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Premier Daniel Andrews fancies himself as Darryl Kerrigan — the “ideas man” from The Castle — who has the vision to lead this state out of lockdown.
Tell him he’s dreamin’.
Despite the easing of restrictions, there isn’t much to celebrate.
Five million Victorians continue to be locked down. Our movements are restricted and most of our businesses closed.
Epidemiologists say we have a one in a million chance of getting the virus, and yet police are still patrolling suburban streets.
We’ve got one new case for every 1.6 million people and yet officers continue monitor our homes, workplaces and suburbs.
They’re still keeping tabs on the number of people in our parks and the distance they’ve travelled to get there. And they’ll be out in force on Saturday, ready to stamp out any Grand Final frivolity.
All of this is because 136 people have the coronavirus. This includes 12 people who are in hospital.
Other parts of the world are bringing in similar lockdown measures, but that’s because they have 16,000 deaths a day, not four.
On Sunday, we were granted a few false freedoms, but they only serve to remind us of what we still can’t do.
We can now drive 25km to walk along the beach, but we can’t see family and friends in the country.
We can get takeaway from across town, but we can’t sit down to dine.
Supermarkets are open, but not shops in strips or shopping centres.
It shows the government has lost sight of what it’s trying to achieve.
The road map out may be paved with good intentions, but it’s a maze, not a motorway. It’s incoherent, muddled and ridiculous.
The Premier continues to make decisions that are not supported by leading epidemiologists.
Even Andrews has admitted there’s no public health benefit to the 25km limit. And he can’t explain why it’s 25, not 50.
When asked why 25km was chosen, he said “it’s one of those things you need to make a call on”. He as may as well be The Castle lawyer Dennis Denuto, telling the judge it’s all about “the vibe”.
Medical experts say the movement of people across 25km will make little difference — much more important is that people stick to social distancing rules.
And yet Andrews says the 25km limit may continue beyond November 2, despite the government having said distance restrictions would be gone by the end of October. He said he “hoped” it could be gone by Christmas, but could give no guarantee.
How are we to have any faith in a decision-making process like this?
Andrews has also scrapped the five-case rolling 14-day average threshold and the zero mystery cases as requirements for the easing of restrictions. Ten became the new five, and five became the new zero.
Now he’s moved away from numbers altogether.
Even a week ago, we were told the numbers were key: that they would dictate where we travelled, where we could eat, where we could shop and who we could see.
What’s Andrews now using to justify his decisions? He says it’s “more qualitative”. Sounds a bit like Dennis Denuto’s “law of common sense”, doesn’t it?
The same goes for the “ring of steel” around metro Melbourne. There’s no time frame for it to be lifted — in fact, it’ll be strengthened, with more police checks than ever to protect the regions. No one from Melbourne’s going to Bonnie Doon, that’s for sure.
This is despite expert after expert declaring the only ring of steel we need is around case outbreaks.
Good contact tracing should make such boundaries irrelevant.
The Premier is also keeping small businesses closed for another two agonising weeks despite the fact 1000 jobs are being lost in the sector every day. After 70 days of closure, half aren’t expected to survive.
Even restrictions announced for the reopening of restaurants aren’t a workable solution for many. From November 1 (or maybe earlier, or maybe later), venues can have 50 people outside and 20 inside. Other businesses such as gyms still have no idea when they’ll be allowed to operate.
A bit of certainty might help desperate business owners secure yet another loan or give them respite from paying another month of rent when they’re not earning anything.
Victorians are ready to make their own decisions. We’ve shown time and again that we can be trusted to stick to rules, wear masks, and keep a distance from each other.
We’re a long way off Kerrigan’s “serenity”. In the meantime, we’d settle for some sound decision-making from our leaders.
Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist