Gunner a real revelation in leading NT coronavirus response, writes Matt Cunningham

His messaging has been strong, clear and direct. But most importantly he has shown an empathy with his constituents, writes MATT CUNNINGHAM

Chief Minister Michael Gunner addresses the media on the latest coronavirus updates. Picture: Che Chorley

IT’S the age where everyone is an expert — and it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

Thanks largely to social media, we live in a time when everyone with a Facebook page or a Twitter account has a platform, and far too few are afraid to use it. Until now, this phenomenon has proved largely harmless.

What’s the worst that can happen if people who’ve never played football second guess a professional football coach, for instance.

Even in the cut and thrust of politics, these armchair experts might have polarised public debate but it’s all been largely a sideshow.

Now, however, times have changed. Life in the era or coronavirus is very different, and will be for some time.

Yet the critics are still out in force, second guessing every decision and offering alternatives of their own, usually based on zero knowledge, evidence or experience.

The task in front of the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers right now is epic.

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They’ve been forced to confront two equally daunting crises coming at them at the one time.

One is a health crisis, trying to contain a pandemic that has already claimed tens of thousands of lives worldwide and could claim millions before it’s over.

The other is an economic crisis that comes from effectively shutting down the global economy.

And for every lever that is pulled to try to address the health crisis, the economic crisis is ramped up a notch.

Under these almost impossible circumstances our leaders have performed admirably.

The Prime Minister has been a constant, calm and steady voice amidst a world of chaos.

Here in the Northern Territory, Chief Minister Michael Gunner and his Health Minister Natasha Fyles have been outstanding.

Fyles has been by far this government’s best performer since their election so few would have been surprised to see her on the front foot, addressing the crisis.

But Gunner has been a revelation.

A couple of months ago it looked likely he would go down as a failed chief minister after three-and-a-half years of mediocre governance. But in the past two weeks he has shown the kind of leadership many thought he was incapable of.

His messaging has been strong, clear and direct. But most importantly he has shown an empathy with his constituents so badly needed amid this unprecedented crisis.

He has taken strong and decisive action when necessary — moving first among the mainland jurisdictions to close borders — yet resisted the temptation to resort to knee-jerk reactions (like instantly closing schools) that could cause more harm than good.

He’s also had the confidence to call out bad behaviour when required, unleashing a verbal tirade on Get Up! after it tried to use the crisis to score a few cheap political points.

In many ways Gunner has looked like a bloke who realises he’s got nothing to lose. His moment has come and he’s grabbing it with both hands.

Of course it is early days in this crisis that could hit hard for six months and will no doubt effect everyone’s lives for years to come. Whether Gunner’s recent performance results in electoral success is too early to tell.

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(It’s highly doubtful the NT election will go ahead on August 22 anyway – how could you possible poll in remote parts of the Territory under these circumstances?)

But whether he wins that election or not, his legacy as a chief minister will now be determined by how he performs in the midst of this crisis. Everything that came before now seems trivial and irrelevant.

Throughout this crisis, Gunner and Morrison would have taken comfort in the guidance of the medical experts, led by Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy, and here in the NT by Deputy Chief Health Officer Dianne Stephens.

Thankfully, Morrison, Gunner and the National Cabinet have largely stuck to the advice of these experts. That hasn’t stopped the armchair experts going into overdrive.

They’re too many to mention by name, but they’ve been everywhere — politicians, journalists, activists and more who’ve suddenly become experts in epidemiology — offering opinions on everything from school closures to social distancing. Those who continue to think they know best might want to consider the words of former chief minister Shane Stone, now the Drought Recovery Co-ordinator General. He said this to me yesterday:

“I smile to myself when I observe some of these people on radio and television telling Scott Morrison what he should be doing, telling the premiers and chief ministers how they could do it better, and the one thing those people have in common is they’ve never been in charge of anything, nothing, so, step back, let our leaders do their job. I think they’re doing a pretty good job from what I can see, so just get off their case folks because you’ve never been in charge of anything, and if you have, you have a history of failure.”