Coronavirus: How the world fell victim to the perfect ambush

“I don’t know how the world can punish China for its appalling behaviour but there must be some kind of reckoning.” Picture: AP

The news is bleak. Businesses around the world are shutting down. Unemployment numbers are rocketing up. The newly out of work are forming queues that seem to go on for miles. I have just been informed that NSW recorded four more deaths last night. While the curve may be flattening, we are nowhere near at the point where we can declare victory. The world fell victim to the perfect ambush. The combination of a new bug and a secretive totalitarian regime has proven to be deadly. I don’t know how the world can punish China for its appalling behaviour but there must be some kind of reckoning. At our place Sky News runs in the background for much of the day and I have just heard an expert telling us that Australia will be fortunate because Asia will be the epicentre of world economic growth.

While I know many of us get a kick out of seeing football jumpers emblazoned with the immortal phrase “I support anyone playing New Zealand”, this would be an opportune time to stop bagging the Kiwis and instead try to emulate them. The New Zealanders continually outdo Australia and the United States in being able to find ways of opening up new markets in Asia. Their success is not restricted to Asia either. Anyone who has been in Europe in recent years knows that it is far more common to see New Zealand wine on the menu than our own. New Zealand lamb is accepted as better than Australia’s simply because they have sold this idea so well and we allowed them free rein to so do by refusing to challenge their message. A mixture of laziness and chauvinism combined to put us in a poor second place.

In difficult circumstances, the Morrison government has done well in pushing cash out into the economy in a timely manner. The Attorney-General, Christian Porter, has done particularly well in keeping Australians informed. We will all discover next week just what a skeleton parliament looks like when it is convened to deal with this crisis. If both sides can agree on who will be there and who will stay at home, it says a great deal about national unity in a time of crisis.

Fear of the virus is affecting our finances as well. Cash is no longer king. We are being advised to use the plastic instead. Touching notes and coins is a good way to increase the odds of you getting sick, so the banks want us to use credit or debit cards. The banks have also faced a big number of mortgage holders seeking to renegotiate their loans to fee up some cash for the here and now. The findings of the Banking Royal Commission were only delivered a couple of months ago and with those dire warnings still ringing in their ears, our bankers should be on their best behaviour.

The other industry facing upheaval on a grand scale is the cruising industry itself. My long-held desire to go on a cruise has been extinguished. While I am not at all averse to the idea of a cruise, my ship has now well and truly sailed into the sunset.

I have never met the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, but as I write this and listen to him on Sky News, I can only say his knack for always choosing the right tone, the right words, at the right time, is as uncanny as it is un-confected. He cares and Victorians know it.