The Politics of Stupidity
Australia: a country synonymous with laid-back, lackadaisical, laconic layabouts, a ‘free, democratic’ country mostly devoid of Proud Boys, the Boogaloo or other soul-destroying movements. Thus runs deep the myth of the country I inhabit for better or worse, where Australian society is egalitarian, multicultural and everyone can have a ‘fair go’. Well, that was the past, a mythical past eulogised and lauded by conservatives. Now to reality.
As with countries around the globe, Australia has been gripped by the pandemic, a seemingly never-ending saga of infection, dire economic circumstances for the populace and varying degrees of competence. There are remarkable tales of heroic deeds of medical and other essential personnel, of selfless sacrifice and all too often, infection and death. We have suffered from this scourge which appears unrelenting, sapping the spirit and draining the bank balance. But here in Victoria, it seems there is another malaise, a blanket which clouds thought, sense and rationality. With the advent of the virus has appeared a disorder so pervasive that normally sensible people embrace hysteria, baseless opinion and of course, ‘fake news’.
In Victoria, the state government has made few major gaffes and now is considered internationally one of the gold standards in dealing with the virus. While not perfect in the implementation of the epidemic quarantine and lockdowns, the methodology has been consistently based on the best available science. However, there seems to be a cognitive dissonance within the Victorian community. We are confronted each day by Premier Daniel Andrews, Health Minister Martin Foley and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Brett Sutton, who lay out their progress and any dangerous ‘hot spots’ of infections. It is salutary to note that we have had no deaths for almost 2 months, yet regular as an erstwhile Trumpian tweet, normally sane journalists ask the same blindingly, numbingly banal and disingenuous questions ad nauseam, day after day after day…and the Premier stands there, sometimes for hours, calmly answering this drivel.
First, they attempt to sheet the blame for lockdowns to the Premier himself. Never mind the fact his degree is not in medicine, let alone epidemiology. Never mind it is the CMO, his Federal counterpart and the Health Department which make such decisions and advise the Premier accordingly. Never mind the fact that the Premier has stated repeatedly the process and that he doesn’t take the most politically popular route, but the scientifically advised one, regardless of how it looks or plays out. No, the media’s narrative, wittingly or not, follows the political handbook of the conservative parties and their often faux outrage attacks.
Second, ‘it’s the economy, stupid’. Daily, the Premier is blamed for shutting down the state’s economy and ruining lives, bankrupting businesses. Daily he is harangued about why he permits small businesses to go under, people to lose their jobs and some forced into penury. We are in the middle of a lightning 5-day lockdown, the third lockdown since March 2020. For a state which is one of the economic powerhouses of Australia, it is axiomatic the Premier, Treasurer and government would know the toll a lockdown exacts. Nevertheless, for some reason, the media and ipso facto the public, believe it is on some sort of polemic whim, a Communist plot to ensure Victoria remains a ‘nanny state’. The Premier has wisely chosen his citizens’ health over politicking or economics, a difficult choice for which he should be applauded.
Finally, with each infection outbreak, Premier Andrews is blamed on the one hand for not acting quickly enough, but on the other hand, being too precipitate in ordering a lockdown which is overly draconian and heavy-handed. Again, it is not he who decides, but trained medical staff, so these contradictory arguments bear little scrutiny or credence. However, if enough mud is thrown, some will stick, so the Premier and his government are rightly feeling unjustifiably beset.
According to Australian law and the Constitution, quarantine is a Federal responsibility, not of the States. However, the Prime Minister abrogated this responsibility last year, washing his hands of the matter and wrongly stating this was a State matter. It is only in the past two weeks that pressure has been brought to bear to force the PM to shoulder his obligations, although by the time this is actioned, it will be too little too late. Thus, it has been left to the Australian States’ Premiers to concoct their own version of quarantine with no Federal help, guidance or meaningful resources. This has meant six different versions of quarantine in varying degrees of biosecurity. This has also meant outbreaks of infection, ‘hot spots’ with sometimes chaotic contact tracing, ad hoc coordination between departments of the civil service and borders between states opening and closing more often than railway crossing gates. Inter- and intra-State ‘bubbles’ are created to allow travel, but they are just as easily stopped peremptorily due to a new infection, shutting down entire towns, borders and the attendant commerce.
The game of politics is rough and survivors few, but in this pandemic, politics should play no part. One would have hoped any country would have a national policy driver, a whole-of-government approach which would be applicable across the board. Here in Australia it has been piecemeal, fragmented and frustrating. It is difficult keeping up with the current border bans and one can too easily be trapped away from home if a border is closed with little warning. Without a national approach, we as a country have been hampered. The haphazard intake of overseas citizens and others has sparked new infections of the more transmissible UK and South African mutations, quarantine transgressions which have resulted in worse lockdowns and use of inappropriate or inadequate accommodation in an attempt to isolate those testing positive.
Without clear Federal direction, States go it alone and the fear quotient rises. Therein lies the problem facing Victoria’s otherwise competent Premier. Daniel Andrews is a victim of Federal laziness and abandonment, a prominent target for political enemies and media hatchet jobs and a focus for every malcontent to vent their outrage. In one sense, apart from die-hard supporters, the Premier has the odds stacked against him and should this present lockdown be extended, the vitriol will become worse, as will his popularity standing, which is still impressive. There has been a massive political hit put out against him as punishment for defeating a one-term conservative State government and turning the State of Victoria into a progressive state with policies abhorrent to the Right: LGBQTI issues, Dying With Dignity legislation, legalised medicinal cannabis, Treaty talks with our First Nations people, sanctions against domestic violence and measures to ensure accountability and responsibility for industrial entitlements and safety. All these are viewed as an assault on the ‘Big End of Town’, the businesses who wish to keep the status quo. They see the Andrews government’s agenda as being onerous and having a negative impact on the bottom line, both criticisms which may be true for corporations large and small not facing up to their duty of care in terms of their workforce.
For the Premier of Victoria, his conflicts are far from over and while there may be some fronts on which he could be held to account, the spurious arguments being thrown at him daily are dangerously inaccurate and unhelpful. Under siege, the sidelined and constantly irrelevant opposition parties are flailing around looking for an edge, a weapon with which to cudgel and defeat the Premier. Playing stupid political games serves only to cheapen any cause they may have and exposes the paucity of their material.
Anthony Leong worked for 8 years under Daniel Andrews and has also worked in the area of public health.
