Scott Morrison has moved to quell growing anxiety and confusion with substantive action and forthright rhetoric.
The Prime Minister’s creation of a national commission to help manage and advise on the COVID-19 crisis is aimed at ensuring governments, through the Nation Cabinet, and the private sector have two-way communications and management.
Governments, collectively or individually, are simply not equipped to deal with the vast challenges presented by the twin health and economic threats to Australian society.
Public attitudes to the crisis, whether through anxiety or complacency, are still the key to containing the spread of the virus and the damage to the economy.
The unprecedented threat from the COVID-19 outbreak has severely tested governments around the world, drastically altered the functioning of our own parliament and thrown up the entirely novel National Cabinet structure.
The pace of this change has not given the public the time to absorb the changes, understand how the new system is working and adjust to a change in expectations of what can be done in the time available.
The new National Commission can practically involve more of the private sector, industry and the unions in solutions to problems about supply chains, the matching of those losing jobs and where new jobs are needed as well injecting new advice and perspectives from outside the government sector.
The Commission is a good mix of private and public service experience, including a former Labor Government Minister in Greg Combet, and will need to ensure it does not become subservient to its political or public service masters and play a truly independent and strong role.
Morrison was right to link the new commission with a more detailed explanation of how the National Cabinet works and how the new commission will address the fears of supply chains for essential food and services.
This text message is being sent to mobile phones across Australia from this morning. Please listen and act so we can save lives. https://t.co/jB85dKHpw8
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 24, 2020
The claim of “mixed messages” as a result of different actions by states and Morrison’s stated position and real errors in implementing quarantine measures have undermined public confidence and heightened anxiety.
Morrison’s intent remains the same: keep as many jobs protected as possible while trying to limit the peak of the viral pandemic and that the means to achieve these twin objectives is not to reinvent the wheel overnight and risk dangerous mistakes.
Nor his he prepared to adopt panaceas for political convenience which would harm the economy further for the sake of answering claims of mixed messages.
“I will not act in some cavalier way” he said just to satisfy calls for acts which go against the advice he is receiving on health and economic grounds.
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