We’re all in this together! We’re all in this together. We’re all in this together? Are we? Being from Victoria I have two ways of thinking about this. First, if I listen to my friends and family both in Victoria and interstate. Everyone has been extremely understanding, compassionate and sympathetic and from that point of view I really feel that we are in this together. This was compounded by a wonderful 30 second filler piece I saw on ABC news that played a string of messages from people all over the country giving beautiful words of encouragement and support. In this respect, I absolutely feel like we are all in this together. It gives me energy in this second lockdown. I feel empowered like I am doing this for the good of the country and the safety of everyone.
Unfortunately, I start to feel very differently when I continue to watch ABC news. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t blame ABC news. I believe they are the most rational and unbiased news network in the country, but in bringing us the news they also televise all politicians press conferences, press releases, behaviors etc… And this is where it all breaks down. Many of the politicians (not all) have made us feel extremely isolated and alone. Especially being Victorian, I and many of my friends and family feel extremely disconnected from the rest of Australia.
Let me start right at the top. Our Prime Minister Scott Morrison who has said countless times that we are all in this together. And he said it at the start of Victoria’s second lockdown, moments before he went home, picked up his family and went on to enjoy a couple of nice cold beers at the footy. As we are all in this together I know exactly how he felt as I went home picked up my family and went off to the MCG. Accept for the fact that we didn’t go to the MCG, we didn’t watch the football and we didn’t enjoy a couple of beers because we were in lockdown. Now I don’t begrudge my fellow Australians going to the footy when I can’t because management of the pandemic needs to concentrate on the hotspots. Some people have said they don’t begrudge the PM having a bit of time out to watch the footy as he has an extremely difficult job at the moment. I disagree though. It is a difficult job for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is to represent the Australian people which includes enjoying the good times but also empathising with the bad times which sometimes means sacrifice. Sacrificing your trip to the footy so you can stand side by side with Victorians in their time of suffering. But I guess you have set a precedent here by sodding off on a Fijian holiday during the bushfire crisis.
Well, it wouldn’t be COVID blog focusing on Australia if I didn’t mention supreme Victorian leader, Dan Andrews. Again, a leader that has used the line “we are all in this together” in abundance. In his defence though, at least he hasn’t been to the footy and from an advertising standpoint the Victorian government has a great slogan “staying apart keeps us together”. He has also fronted up to the media everyday which can’t always be easy, or is it easy for him? It could be argued that he actually likes the attention and the power that comes from having Victoria in a state of emergency. I personally don’t think this is the case but his rhetoric has felt dictatorial. Especially at the start of lockdown the premier kept telling us that we needed to understand how serious the pandemic was. Well, I’d like to ask him if he knew how serious the pandemic was when he trusted hotel quarantine to private security or when cracks in our contact tracing and COVID testing became apparent? Instead we were forced into Victoria’s one and only weapon against COVID, lockdown. And as he did it we were made to feel like it was our fault, that we were to blame and we were the all the ones who had let Victoria down and were the shame of Australia. He also made us very much aware of all the restriction we would face, that they would be enforced by the police and what the punishment would be. Newsflash people, it was not our fault. It was the fault of the Victorian government and even though he has taken responsibility he has not accepted the blame or apologised for it. As a result, the messages from the premier have been mixed which makes us feel alone and that does not make us feel together.
Finally, I’m going to focus on the other state premiers and chief ministers with particular attention on my least favourite politician in the world right now, (and that’s a pretty low bar) Annastacia Palaszczuk. Not only is her name insufferably difficult to spell her demeanour has been smug and arrogant and I for one feel like she thinks she is better than the rest of Australia. She constantly says she has to put Queenslanders first and when you say that you divide the country. In this case Queensland is above the rest of the country with Victoria being left right down the bottom nestle uncomfortably beneath fifty feet of your political garbage. With lines like “Victoria, don’t come here” you’ve made us feel like we come from a diseased, rancid leper colony that deserves the contempt and disdain of the rest of Australia.
I and many other Victorians also take umbrage to your request to host the AFL grand final because Queensland as you put it has done most of the “heavy lifting”. You might call it “heavy lifting”, I call it cashing in on Melbourne’s misfortune. The AFL relocation has been a massive boon for your economy with many teams having to pay to house and maintain their players, staff and family in your state as well as the economic benefits of hosting the games. Could you please use this topic to show a little respect and humility as hosting the AFL is not a burden but a privilege and an economic cash cow in this time of COVID recession.
I have to say that although I have singled out Annastacia Palaszczuk she is not the only one as no premier has an argument for total vindication. However, one of the failing is not just in our political leaders but in our system. How can we possibly all feel like we are all in this together when we have six state and two territory governments, as well as the federal government, splitting up jurisdictions based on region and responsibility. We are 25 million people with 9 different governments. If we were controlled by just one government, regional lockdown would be far easier to deal with and I believe our response would have been far more effective.
Until next time,
Stay well
No comments:
Post a Comment