SA businessman Sam Shahin says we need to plan for life with Covid and its inevitable consequences
SA businessman Sam Shahin says we need to look forward and plan for life with Covid and we owe Gladys Berejiklian a great debt for forcing us to face reality.
Prominent South Australian businessman Sam Shahin has challenged our political leaders to be truthful about the fact that Covid-19 is here to stay – with more cases and more deaths – and plan for the future rather than obsessing over the past.
Dr Shahin has penned a controversial op ed article entitled “Australia needed Berejiklian”, saying the stark reality of what’s happening in New South Wales was the circuit breaker we needed to show we must learn to live with Covid-19.
Speaking as a private citizen rather than a spokesman for his family’s Peregrine Corporation, which owns the OTR chain of service stations, Dr Shahin has challenged political leaders at the state and federal levels to lay out a plan for what Australia looks like in the future, rather than continue the “obsession” with case load and death numbers.
Dr Shahin’s family is estimated to be worth almost $2 billion, with Sam and brothers Yasser and Khalil running a network of service stations, gift shops and The Bend Motorport Park, employing about 5000 people in total. The family also has significant business interests.
Dr Shahin says there is “almost irreparable’’ damage being done to small businesses, and to the sense of community which comes from attending schools and universities and social functions, and he was speaking out because he was tired of politicians not providing a vision for the future.
“I am challenging leaders to lead,’’ he said.
Dr Shahin said no one needed a crystal ball to figure out what the future held. This was already being played out in other countries which were ahead of us on the vaccination schedule, and the reality is that there will be a long term need to live with the virus, and the consequences it brings.
Dr Shahin said we should back the Doherty Institute science that indicates that reopening is safe once vaccine targets of 70-80 per cent are hit, but pretending Covid-19 would somehow disappear was naive.
“This is where leaders need to lead,’’ he said.
“They just need to prepare the entire population for what’s coming and I fear they’re not doing that.
“They are going from crisis to crisis, managing the day to day as it happens.’’
Dr Shahin said the “absolute obsession” with case numbers and the number of people in hospital shed no light on what the “end game” would look like.
“Gladys Berejiklian and NSW have given us a peek into what’s coming and whether we like it or not, we ought to be prepared,’’ Dr Shahin writes.
“Most of us would have gladly kept our heads in the sand and hoped that the pandemic will remain the concern of other nations. It’s clearly not.
“I hope history will record that our nation owes Gladys Berejiklian and her government a great debt in pushing our nation into making choices we would otherwise have procrastinated longer on.’’
Dr Shahin said that while the numbers of new Covid cases and deaths overseas were “terrifying”, they were “real numbers’’.
“This is the new reality and the sooner we acknowledge and prepare, the better and brighter the future,’’ he said.
“This is the priority role of our leaders today. There is a major failure in focusing on ‘what happened yesterday’ rather than ‘what we plan to do tomorrow’. We are a smart nation and we can plan.’’
Dr Shahin said it was time for our political leaders to step out from behind their public health officials and do what they were elected to do.
“Send epidemiologists back to the basement levels of big hospitals and challenge leaders to lead, to prepare the population for what’s coming, and not to act surprised when it does,’’ he said.
“If Covid is not already in our community, it soon will be. We should not be afraid. We must trust that humanity has endured those challenges in the past, and adapted.’’
Dr Shahin told The Australian that you could “cut and paste” the information from daily Covid press conferences
“The future is bright but between now and the new future, there is a sobering reality that every Australian must acknowledge,’’ he says in his column.
“It isn’t courage that’s needed, it is planning, foresight and clarity that’s needed. A predictable and bright future is what I want to hear.
Dr Shahin’s full column is below.
Australia needed Berejiklian
Indeed we are the victim of our own early successes but the time is right now to wake up, and to make good.
The future is bright but between now and the new future, there is a sobering reality that every Australian must acknowledge. It isn’t courage that’s needed, it is planning, foresight and clarity that’s needed. A predictable and bright future is what I want to hear. Hope that we will be OK. No guesswork, no politics.
The key question is this: have we learned our lesson? If I was PM, I’d be staring at the mirror thinking … I’ve messed up the early engagement with the population. I’ve messed up the messaging about vaccination. I could have procured vaccines better. I could have better distributed vaccines to where they’re required. Let me do this better now: We have a steady supply, let’s get the message right, and the messengers right. Both are equally important whether you’re pro, or against vaccination.
The science is provided by the very credible Doherty Report. The baseline ‘case load’ is irrelevant.
The message is clear. Gladys Berejiklian and NSW have given us a peek into what’s coming and whether we like it or not, we ought to be prepared. Most of us would have gladly kept our heads in the sand and hoped that the pandemic will remain the concern of other nations. It’s clearly not. I hope history will record that our nation owes Gladys Berejiklian and her government a great debt in pushing our nation into making choices we would otherwise have procrastinated longer on.
Just over a quarter of Australia’s population is fully vaccinated, compared with 53 per cent of Americans, 60 per cent of Germans, 64 per cent of the UK population, 67 per cent of Canada and 69 per cent of Spain.
In the UK, the 7-day average of Covid cases is running at 32,000 with an average 115 deaths per day. In the USA, the 7 day average is 200,000 cases with around 1300 deaths per day. Those are terrifying numbers but they’re real numbers. This is the new reality and the sooner we acknowledge and prepare, the better and brighter the future. This is the priority role of our leaders today. There is a major failure in focusing on ‘what happened yesterday’ rather than ‘what we plan to do tomorrow’. We are a smart nation and we can plan. The ‘train is coming’ and the high beams are on; we must acknowledge that.
When we hit vaccination milestones is almost arbitrary. There will be bigger case loads and there will be deaths, and we need to accept that. There are deaths from various causes, and all the time. In 2018, Australia recorded 1250 deaths directly linked to influenza virus. That figure was 36 last year. We need to accept the fact that this disease is dangerous and accept the fact that some of us will perish from it.
It is brave or naïve of anyone to assume that any political leader will risk reappearing from behind the shadow of ‘health advice’, especially when we’re on the doorstep of one State election and the big one, and given the election results in States that have taken advantage of the crisis.
Get the message right. We are a sporting nation. I would like those we all relate to to be the broadcasters and headlining the messaging. Send epidemiologists back to the basement levels of big hospitals and challenge leaders to lead, to prepare the population for what’s coming, and not to act surprised when it does. If Covid is not already in our community, it soon will be. We should not be afraid. We must trust that humanity has endured those challenges in the past, and adapted.
We are one country. It is vaguely amusing to witness the rise and rise of the Republics of Western Australia and Victoria, and the diminishing stature of the federation. If you were a State leader, you’d absolutely do the same. They’ve taken advantage of poor national governance and we, as a nation, may have crossed a line that will define our future, and our history. We must resist the damage being done to our nation right in front of our own eyes.
How likely is that to happen? Your guess is as good as mine.
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