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US has no right to point the finger at our handling of Covid

Australia is now a pawn in the international culture wars and our reputation unfairly maligned. We can accept this, or push back.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner. Picture: Julianne Osborne
Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner. Picture: Julianne Osborne

Years ago, just before the 2018 Victorian election, my husband and I holidayed in New Zealand. We met a lovely couple from Texas who wanted to come to the Australian Open. One problem; they were literally too frightened for their personal safety to set foot on Australian soil.

You might laugh, and I did, but the Texans genuinely believed Melbourne to be a highly dangerous city, swamped by a crime wave, with violent “African gangs” running wild. They asked with widened eyes how we managed to live safely and protect ourselves at home. Did we have plenty of guns?

For years, Victoria has been a pawn in the Australian culture wars. In order to damage a Labor government, our state is routinely cast as a terrible place where only bad things happen.

Before meeting the Texans, I considered this situation erroneous and disappointing, but ultimately harmless, because surely, no one really took notice.

However, the American couple provided a confronting lesson. In the internet age, Google searches bring up media stories, and video clips are broadcast via social media all over the globe. A relentless and hyperbolically negative narrative will result in the reputational trashing of a location, with real economic and social impact.

Fast-forward to today – our whole country is embroiled in an international ideological battle over vaccines.

Australia is now a pawn in the international culture wars. Our reputation is being unfairly maligned, and people here are being incited to violence and illegal acts. We can accept this, or push back, just as Michael Gunner has.

You might think a press conference in the Northern Territory would be of no interest to Americans. But on October 14, Republican senator Ted Cruz, from Texas, sent a tweet to his 2.2 million followers containing a video of Gunner, the Northern Territory Chief Minister, announcing a vaccine mandate for workers who interact with members of the public.

Cruz made commentary above the clip: “I love the Aussies. Their history of rugged independence is legendary; I’ve always said Australia is the Texas of the Pacific. The Covid tyranny of their current government is disgraceful & sad. Individual liberty matters. I stand with the people of #Australia.”

Get that, Australia? A Republican politician stands with us, against vaccine mandates.

Four days later, Gunner responded, with a tweet. G’day from Down Under, it said, and thanks for your interest in the Territory.

“Nearly 70,000 Texans have tragically died from Covid. There have been zero deaths in the Territory. Did you know that?

“Vaccination is so important here because we have vulnerable communities and the oldest continuous living culture on the planet to protect. Did you know that?

“We have done whatever it takes to protect the Territory … in lockdown for just eight days in 18 months … Our businesses and schools are all open. Did you know that?

“We don’t need your lectures, thanks mate. You know nothing about us. And if you stand against a lifesaving vaccine, then you sure as hell don’t stand with Australia. I love Texas … but when it comes to Covid, I’m glad we are nothing like you.”

Within days, a protest broke out. People in the crowd shouted out the Chief Minister’s residential address, saying they wanted to attack him. Under police advice, Gunner’s wife and 18-month-old son fled their home for a safe location.

On television later, Gunner said the one thing that has made it harder for his team to do its job, is the people from overseas, “ideologues”, who are contacting people in the Territory, via the internet. “We don’t need people like Senator Ted Cruz and others” pushing their messages here, he said.

Since the start of this pandemic, there are those who have actively worked to undermined health responses. They have disseminated false and misleading information, railed against lockdowns, incited nihilistic conduct and are now encouraging “uprisings” against vaccine mandates under the guise of “freedom” and “choice”. I am yet to see a left-wing politician or commentator do this. The problem is in the fringes of the right, with links to the right, in the US.

Before Covid, in October 2019, an alliance of US bodies, including The Economist Intelligence Unit, undertook an expensive operation with hundreds of researchers, to assess a country’s capability to prevent and mitigate epidemics and pandemics.

A report was produced, called The Global Health Security Index. It included a global ranking of countries best prepared for a pandemic. The best country in the world, ranked at number one? The US, of course. The report contained recommendations for all the other countries to adopt.

It is macabre to talk about success of pandemic response. Every government has made mistakes, and brought in draconian measures that may have been too harsh.

However, the most obvious measure of success must be the numbers of deaths from the virus. On that measure, consider whether anyone from the US has the right to point the finger at anyone in Australia, and marshal their forces to meddle and disrupt. They don’t, they shouldn’t, and we mustn’t let them. This is our country, after all.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/us-has-no-right-to-point-the-finger-at-our-handling-of-covid/news-story/0139c98580f91ca9c22819e12e790ef5