Remember March? Punch-ups in aisle 12 over a packet of bog roll? Shopping trolleys used as battering rams?
It was a kinder, gentler time.
Yesterday, Premier Palaszczuk announced Queensland borders would be opening to all but Victorians on July 10.
Remember in March, too, those who claimed that COVID-19 was no worse than your run-of-the-mill flu?
The flimsy juxtaposition and many others like it were posed as part of an overall argument that locking downs our communities, our cities, our states and our country was an act of economic vandalism.
Imagine for a moment if these people had been placed in charge of public policy, if they had been allowed to do what they agitated for — keeping cinemas, gyms, pubs, clubs open with people milling about and the inevitable super spreading event occurring, here, there and pretty soon everywhere.
We don’t see the specious comparisons so much these days. That was a March thing.
Now, in July, this pandemic has caused half a million deaths globally with 10 million people infected. And we are just six months in.
Much of the thinking in March and then in April was based on the absurdity that a pandemic has only a past and a present – a neat set of data, a beginning and an end with no thought given to what was yet to happen, supported by a media fascination with headline data that begins and ends with numbers of recorded cases and numbers of deaths.
One of the points I have tried to stress is that while 5.3 million people are listed as having recovered, many will have serious ongoing medical problems. These range from loss of cognitive function to renal, cardiac and respiratory illness. Serious stuff that will a) require medical care, complex surgery even lung, heart and kidney transplants and b) will take years off their lives.
When you’re in the public policy business, all you can do, all that can be expected of you is that you listen to experts and respond accordingly. You have to do so knowing that failures will occur, humans make mistakes or ignore advice outright.
Some people are wilful. Let’s be honest here. There are a lot of idiots about.
In my own neck of the woods over the Easter holidays, I was stunned to see people milling about in town. I can tell the tourists from the locals. It’s not hard. The blow-ins, most of whom come from Sydney, were dressed from tip to toe in their latest winter finery, scarves, jumpers and jackets so new you’d expect to see the price tags still dangling from them, while the locals got about in T-shirts.
They were sitting in cafes or strolling around shops, spending money. That’s the good news. But they were also walking four abreast along footpaths. Social distancing was ignored.
Having been told by experts that the COVID-19 pandemic was likely to last for a year or more, people chose instead to assume it was over on the basis of a month’s worth of data.
Governments were pressured to open up their borders and resume business as usual.
Which brings me back to Palaszczuk. At her press conference yesterday, she took a big swipe at the federal government. When asked about the pressure that had been applied to Queensland she answered, “I think, for a start, these border wars have got to stop. I think a national leader should be able to bring all states and territories together.
“Frankly, I’m a bit sick that Queensland has been singled out as opposed to South Australia and Tasmania just to name a few.
“And perhaps if Victoria had been almost self-quarantined or quarantined, then the Prime Minister cold have set a date for all of the other states and territories once Victoria was under control.”
“At the moment, what we have is a bit of confrontation where fights are being picked with different states and, frankly, I don’t think it’s good enough.
“I’ve been silent for a long time and I will not be silenced for standing up for what I believe to be right, for the health advice that I am being provided for by (Queensland Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeannette Young).
“And Dr Young and the advice that she has given us has put Queensland in a very good position. We’re not out of it yet. We know that.”
What Palaszczuk has done is consistently followed expert advice. This is even more remarkable given she will face Queensland voters on October 31. It’s a tough time to make hard decisions. She deserves credit for it.
But the party she leads, Queensland Labor, is another matter. Within hours of the Queensland premier’s press conference, social media started seeing advertisements like this:
This is hideous from Queensland Labor. Shamefully bad stuff. pic.twitter.com/K5QAZIfR5y
— Jack the Insider (@JacktheInsider) June 30, 2020
“Deb has been calling for the borders to be open for months. Negative Deb’s constant criticisms are a genuine risk to the health and economic warfare of Queenslanders.
“If it was up to Deb, QLD would be flooded with Victorians.”
Warfare? I presume what they meant was welfare. But who knows what’s going on in the minds of Queensland Labor.
In case you’re thinking this is a piece of harmless Queensland parochialism, then substitute “Victorians” for indigenous Australians or elderly Australians or non-Australians and see how it reads.
Deb, of course is Deb Frecklington, the opposition leader who is facing off with Palaszczuk in the Queensland election. Two weeks ago, LNP internal polling was leaked to the Sunday Times showing Frecklington was heading for defeat in the election.
Now, I can’t speak for the veracity of the polling but the fact that it was leaked is a sure sign that, to use a Gareth Evanism, a section of Frecklington’s own party is, “pissing on her swag.”
The advertisement came down off Twitter last night. But a version of it remains on Queensland Labor’s Facebook page, albeit with the warfare/welfare mention removed.
Politics need not be a scorched earth caper. And politics in times of pandemic must be collaborative, consensus building with the creation of evidence-based policy. The old adage in politics is: “When your opponent is drowning, throw them an anvil”, but in times of pandemic, politics doesn’t need to kick people and it should never seek to divide Australia on the basis of political clannishness.
By the way, this is not a case of cancel culture. I’m not advocating Labor takes its advertisement down. In fact, I think it should stay up as a general reminder that there really are a lot of idiots about and there is no shortage of them in Queensland Labor.
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