We must not let coronavirus divide us

State is pitted against state, once good-natured rivalry has turned nasty and at the centre of it all is Victoria’s Premier.

In certain quarters, the Victorian Premier is talked about in the same tone that an old relative of mine used to talk about the devil.

When the last set of tragic bushfires razed locations around Victoria, we saw a heartwarming display of support from across our nation. As various communities battled for their lives, fellow Australians rallied behind them. We worried together and supported each other. Mistakes would have been made, but no one blamed anyone for their misfortune.

Now, though, everything is different.

A virus has infected us, and we have infected it with partisan politics. State is pitted against state, and once good-natured rivalry has turned nasty. Cluster breakouts and the various struggles to contain them are seen through political eyes. Criticism and blame is rife. At the centre of it all seems to be the big bogeyman, otherwise known as Daniel Andrews.

For years now, in the Sydney-centric media, the Victorian Premier has been one of the hottest topics in town. The fact Victoria has a Labor government is the sore everyone loves to pick.

Of course, all governments make mistakes and it is the job of the media to hold politicians to account but, still, there is a hyper focus on Andrews. No matter what he does, fault is found. In certain quarters, the Victorian Premier is talked about in the same tone that an old relative of mine used to talk about the devil.

Last week, one host on Sky News delivered a monologue to camera about the spread of the virus and finished on a conspiratorial note. It is a terrible situation Victorians are in, he said, but when they voted for Andrews they knew full well what they were voting for. In other words, Victoria voted Labor and now all the people are getting what they deserve.

This week, more finger pointing was on display. On Wednesday, a reporter on Sky News announced a breaking story. Everyone’s suspicions had been correct; the cause of a cluster in NSW, labelled “patient zero”, had indeed turned out to be a Melburnian — we got him, folks.

Minutes later, our federal Health Minister appeared at a press conference. A few questions in, and a reporter asked a question. Given the person who had caused this cluster was from Melbourne, did the minister think that Victoria had “let the rest of the country down”?

Thankfully, Greg Hunt is a thoroughly decent man. To all appearances, he works tirelessly, is competent and always maintains a professional demeanour. He reminded the crowd that the only enemy here was the virus. Anyone could become infected, he said, and unknowingly infect others.

This is why we must all support each other, show understanding and do our best to observe all the rules. What is happening in Victoria can and may happen in other locations.

At this point, perhaps spare a thought for said Melburnian now labelled “patient zero”. He travelled lawfully for work when he was allowed to, and in good faith. He didn’t know he had the virus but now has to live with the notoriety (and the guilt) that follows. His title — patient zero — happens to be plastered all over the internet thanks to the headlines that followed the news report.

Never mind that the virus has only one patient zero, being the first person on the planet to be infected.

And never mind that in Australia, there is only one person who can be labelled accurately as the Australian patient zero, and that is the person who brought the virus into the country. This was in January, when a man in his 50s travelled here from Wuhan.

Never mind all that, because now we have evidence that a Melburnian infected someone from NSW.

As this cloud of heady triumph was swirling, another story emerged. NSW was hoping to avoid “Daniel Andrew’s style lockdowns”. See what I mean about the hyper focus on one man?

Now is the time to put aside politics and state rivalry. This virus is a deadly enemy. We are all on a steep learning curve. What appears to be a good decision one month can be labelled a disaster the next. Mistakes will always be made. None of that matters. What matters is how we react. If we do not pick each other up and unite against our enemy, we will fail. We must not let this virus divide us, we must fight it together.

At this juncture, it is time for our leaders to unite and to share some information. As a country, we need to know what the long-term plan is. What are we going to do, how are we going to live, if the worst-case scenario comes to fruition, specifically, if a vaccine is not found?

When designing strategy, it is important to first take yourself to the worst-case scenario and surrender to it. Using our worst-case scenario as our base assumption — and launching pad — we must design a new way of living. We can hope for the best, but we have to prepare for the worst.

Nationally, geographically and personally, we must set new rules for the way we live. Transitioning to our new lives will require extraordinary upheaval and major change. Yet the sooner we begin this journey the better off we will be.