In those worrying early days of COVID-19, which now seem to have been years rather than months ago, when many wondered whether life might ever be the same again, today the column suggests - buoyed by the increased messages reaching us by mail and email, as well as some fine articles written by the nation's journalists - while we are far from out of the danger area we could look to the east for further guidance.
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In The Saturday Paper at the weekend my favourite columnist, Richard Ackland, (aka Gadfly) wrote: "Over the way in NZ, the numbers look miles better. Only one new case was reported (last) Thursday for the previous 24 hours, with the grand total at 1560 and 22 deaths".
"NZ, admittedly, is a much smaller country with fewer densely packed cities, (but) its government adopted the elimination approach rather than suppression, flattening the curve tactic, which was our preferred option".
"Elimination (the NZ choice) meant the immediate implementation of severe stage-four lockdowns in April, four months ago; NZ is back open. Masks are not required, domestic airlines are going full bore, shops, restaurants and kasbahs are open and social distancing is not required, the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra is playing to full houses and the NZ Symphony Orchestra starts touring the country today".
"No wonder Jacinda Ardern (NZ's PM) is in a strong position to win the NZ election next month," Ackland concluded. And oh, yes, NZ does not have states or a senate or upper house of any description! Are there lessons for us there?
Which brings me to share other comments from FOMM's extensive mailbag these past few weeks, starting with the impatient administration of sport (football of all codes), especially "the recruitment of young people with money contracts that are off the planet such as a $3 million contract for a 16-year-old whose bones are not yet strong enough for professional football".
This from a former ADF officer: "I am fed up with stupid people not acting responsibly and with no self-discipline and that includes politicians as well"; to which the column adds, everyone's current modus operandi has to be about what is good for the nation, and in the case of many MPs not about them staying glued to a seat in parliament with their fat salaries and perks - a la the reasoning four South Australian MPs lost their cabinet positions recently - too greedy and no responsibility for those they are supposed to be representing and looking after - for example, those in aged care.
Whilst there is no doubt the installation of the national federal cabinet early in the pandemic was instrumental in the initial control of it, since then the three major parties seem to believe the only buzz words to be used are "the economy".
Do we really need state governments these days?
Well, here are some more words for them to digest courtesy of The SMH's political editor, Peter Hartcher: "Australia has been able easily to afford its emergency spending so far, and here's the key point - it can afford much more. The Reserve Bank Governor, Philip Lowe, privately and publicly, has been urging the government to extend its fiscal support beyond September for as much and as long as is needed".
So this debt-averse stance is, as another reader described, "so much humbug". For so many terms of government that our major parties have been in control, they talk a lot but fail to deliver on issues such as: do we really need state governments these days?; whenever will we finally get around to national tax reform; perhaps, as a reader suggests, a GST increase is long overdue as is aged care reconstruction.
If there is one appalling secret this government is currently hiding it is the prosecution of Witness K, a former ASIS officer, and his lawyer, the former ACT attorney-general, Bernard Collaery.
A former chief of the Australian Law Reform Commission and the Constitutional Commission, Ian Cunliffe, has deplored the use of such secret trials in a splendid article in The SMH in which he wrote: "Protecting secrets vital to national security is one thing. It's another to use authoritarian powers to punish those who expose politicians or officials who have authorised a risky, unethical and possibly illegal operation that damaged Australia's reputation as a straight shooter on the international stage".
Secrecy- or police state government - or both cannot be tolerated in Australia. This charade began when ASIS, on behalf of our then government, bugged the cabinet room of our neighbour, Timor Leste, in 2004 during negotiations for the ownership of massive underwater oil and helium reserves. Shameful!
