Edwina Bartholomew: Let us have Christmas together if we get 80 per cent jabbed

A lot’s been made of Scott Morrison’s Father’s Day dash. Now the pressure is on him to deliver a united Christmas for all Australian families, says Edwina Bartholomew.

I can’t get those pictures from Father’s Day out of my head. Did you see them on the news?

The barricade between Queensland and New South Wales became an impromptu meeting point for families divided by Covid bureaucracy. Kids handed cards over to grandparents, one family set up a picnic on the plastic divide with rolls, charcoal chicken and mayo, another passed a new kayak from one generation to the other.

For a lot of families, Father’s Day is the last big celebration ahead of Christmas. I know in my family talk usually turns to festive menus and presents and plans right after we celebrate Dad at the beginning of September.

But what of Christmas plans this year? Will we be able to see family overseas? Interstate? Even relatives in our own city?

A lot has been made this week of Scott Morrison’s dash to Sydney to see his wife and daughters on Sunday. I don’t actually have too much of a problem with the principle of it. He was within the rules.

He was not, however, open and honest about it with the Australian people, many of whom have not seen their families for up to two years. He also chose a hideously callous photo from another family’s memorial for their dead children to mark the day in yet another demonstration of an extreme lack of empathy.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under pressure to deliver a united Christmas for Aussie families. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Scott Morrison shrugged off the criticism as a cynical, cheap shot from the other side of the aisle.

“In politics, people like to take a lot of swings at you, and you get pretty used to that, but sometimes those jabs can be low blows,” he said.

But he knows now the pressure is on to deliver a united Christmas for all Australian families, not just his. So what has to happen before then?

Vaccination, for starters. At 70 or 80 per cent in each state, surely restrictions can be lifted and we can at least gather in groups.

What about visiting relatives across borders? A number of my colleagues come from WA. Optimistically, they have flights booked already for Christmas. Every time there is a further crackdown of the rules and tightening of the borders, I see how it affects them.

Mums and Dads are getting older, brothers and sisters are leading separate lives, cousins are growing apart. FaceTime can only make up for so much face-to-face time. Will they get over West for Christmas? I just can’t see it happening at this point.

And finally, what of our long lost friends and family living offshore? The idea of a vaccine passport for Australians was floated this week. It would mean we could travel overseas but even fully vaccinated Aussies living in other countries would still have do hotel quarantine here.

I had grand illusions of my sister returning from London for Christmas and my brother-in-law coming home from Singapore. We would set a huge table, tear open presents and gorge ourselves on prawns, baked ham and pudding.

It would be just like the old days but so much better because it would mean so much more. I’ll hold out hope right up until December 25th that this may actually happen.

So over to you, ScoMo. We can probably forget the foibles of Father’s Day, if you make it possible for us to celebrate a very Merry Christmas, together this year.

Originally published as Edwina Bartholomew: Let us have Christmas together if we get 80 per cent jabbed