Leadership solidarity vital in coronavirus challenge

At a historic, sombre and downsized sitting of parliament on Monday, Scott Morrison surveyed a crisis-swept land and looked to fortify a people in transition. “For many, young and old, 2020 will be the toughest year of our lives,” he warned, citing world wars and economic depression as progenitors. A century ago, our fledgling federation was confronted by the Spanish flu pandemic. Around 15,000 Australians died. Most of the victims were aged 25 to 40. Writing in Inquirer on Saturday, the day tens of thousands of people hit the sand and surf at Bondi Beach, Geoffrey Blainey lamented how the influenza disaster had been forgotten, even by historians like him. If the same proportion of the Australian population were to die from the coronavirus as from the Spanish flu, it would mean 70,000 deaths. “It is a sobering thought,” Professor Blainey wrote. “It was vital that the tragedies of 1919 should be inside our national memory. They convey the message: Be prepared. But this year we were not prepared, mentally, for a new pandemic.”

One of the lessons from that time was state governments, much more powerful then, had far too many disputes with Canberra over how to deal with the influenza calamity. The bickering put immense strain on the federation and likely led to more deaths than otherwise would have occurred. A hundred years on, the states tend to follow the commonwealth’s lead, given the taxing power of its purse. But when they come together as a governing collective, Canberra and the states can get things done, especially in a crisis or to tackle the intractable. To contain the spread of COVID-19, the Prime Minister assembled a nine-member national cabinet; it includes him, six premiers and two chief ministers. It has been a good platform for quick action, policy co-ordination and consistent messaging, especially on medical issues and social distancing measures.

Group solidarity was fractured on Sunday, however, when NSW and Victoria shamefully opted to go on dangerous frolics of their own. It’s true our two largest states, their capitals global cities, have the most COVID-19 infections; the next containment phase, as Mr Morrison foreshadowed, will be localised measures for contagion hot spots. In response to state requests, Canberra brought forward a meeting of the national cabinet to Sunday evening; a regular session had been scheduled for Tuesday night. It appears the states felt Canberra was moving too slowly to enforce tougher restrictions on public gatherings, schools and businesses.

Yet some of that anxiety, as well as mass confusion, is due to state debacles. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was too slow in dealing with the bedlam at Bondi Beach and elsewhere in her state. Inexplicably, NSW officials failed to properly process 2700 disembarking cruise passengers, now dispersed in communities around the country, from the Ruby Princess last Thursday; 50 passengers have tested positive to COVID-19, with numbers expected to climb. In the hours before Sunday’s national cabinet session, state and territory leaders panicked by effectively announcing they were shuttering their economies. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced schools in his state would close on Tuesday; NSW and the ACT indicated they would do the same. So-called “non-essential” workplaces would be shut down in NSW and Victoria.

At best, this was a boneheaded power play, trying to force Canberra’s hand. In reality, the breaking of ranks was reckless behaviour, plunging a skittish community into further panic and disarray. Ms Berejiklian made matters worse on Monday when she declared schools would stay open in NSW but advised parents to keep children at home. What’s going on? What are parents to do? This impulsive implosion of national cabinet discipline undermined Mr Morrison’s authority, to a degree, and the decisions and advice of the medical guiding hand in emergencies, which is the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. In truth, state leaders exposed themselves as unreliable, fickle and rash. Mr Morrison mopped up the mess on Sunday evening after the meeting, outlining new restrictions on pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants, gyms, indoor arenas, cinemas and religious services that would come into effect on Monday. He was adamant the AHPPC advice on schools had not changed. The Prime Minister also was obliged to assure Australians the national cabinet “is working and will continue to work, and all of its members are very committed to its processes and its decisions”. We can only hope that this mindless breakdown in process and communication is not repeated.

On Monday, Mr Morrison participated in a “virtual” leaders’ summit with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Singapore has been lauded for its response to COVID-19. In an interview with foreign editor Greg Sheridan, Mr Lee said the willingness of citizens to listen to the government, trust mainstream media and accept explanations for restrictions had helped to contain spread of the virus. But he said it was important to build on social capital and trust during the crisis. “Because if you do not, and people start to doubt what they are being told, or think that facts are being withheld, you will be in deep trouble very quickly,” Mr Lee said.

Trust in government is at low levels; some of it here is self-inflicted by the political class. But this crisis demands higher standards of politicians, in fact by everyone in a decision-making role, and those who have a platform to influence public opinion and behaviour. Too many self-important talking heads, and armchair generals are blithely telling audiences that authorities must impose scorched-earth shutdowns or people will die. The egotists admonish our medical experts and grandstand at every policy turn. Flattening the onset of pundit vanity is becoming an alarming distraction.