It’s time for us all to trust in science
GUESS what the most trusted professions are in Australia? Top of the list are doctors and nurses, just below are scientists, then police and law enforcement.
Next down the trust-ometer came judges, military personnel, and journalists.
The bottom third ranks union leaders, religious leaders, and corporate executives, then politicians, and least trusted of all, celebrities.
Celebrities!
Perhaps Pete Evans is to blame, but most interesting to me was the trust placed in scientists, medical professionals and to a lesser degree, journalists.
Consider the three top news stories of 2020.
The devastating Australian bushfires had dominated the news cycle from November 2019, raging through to March, 2020, when they were finally extinguished.
News crews had barely taken a breather before COVID-19 emerged, spreading like an invisible wildfire through Wuhan, Europe and the United States, its airborne droplets ultimately reaching every continent.
Simultaneously, the news junkies among us were pulling allnighters for the US election drama, which started off as a choice between two candidates, but morphed into whether people believed the science on COVID-19; Joe Biden promoted masks and social distancing while Donald Trump mocked masks and held superspreader events, causing infection spikes for his staff and supporters.
Which brings me back to our trust-ometer. With the medical
profession and scientists our most trusted professions, how ironic that the task of managing those three major events relied on the best medical and scientific advice being managed by the second least trusted profession, politicians.
But it wasn’t the pollies that caused the biggest divide in public perception of how to best handle these events, it was the deadly combination of misinformation and mistrust that divided our understanding and ultimately the management of these issues, politicising them when they didn’t need to be.
When 23 retired fire chiefs and emergency services workers, back from fighting California’s bushfires, requested an audience with our Prime Minister in March
2019 to plead for extra water bombers for the upcoming fire season, they were ignored.
When the fires hit, some journalists blamed arsonists, and this misinformation spread throughout social media and even hit headlines overseas.
It wasn’t true, the hottest year on record was to blame, but although we are used to our country being divided by political lines, it was first time our country was divided by denial.
Just last week, 700 doctors took out a full-page ad in The Australian newspaper to insist the federal government take action on climate change.
We trust doctors, remember? Yet when it came to COVID-19, buoyed by those same media
voices, many Aussies trusted denialist mantras. To their credit, the premiers stood firm, followed the scientific and medical advice and kept us safe, in stark contrast to the staggering number of infections and deaths overseas.
The US now faces multiple severe weather events, an out-ofcontrol pandemic, and a celebrity President who like his followers, ignores science.
By encouraging voting in person to claim the win on the day, Trump has baselessly discredited the postal ballots endorsed by Biden, and is denying the mathematical outcome.
Malignant misinformation and propaganda has created a monster. Doctors v celebrity?
In science we trust.
Well, well, well, full stadium for the Origin but still restrictions in the Ville, four more years, four more years, four more years. MONA, 4814
To the bloody lazy housing tenants in Birrahlee Crescent, take your bloody shopping trolleys back to the supermarket. If you think it’s good enough to bring your groceries home, take it back. Not good enough.
ROBYN THOMAS. KIRWAN.
Yeah it’s not much fun getting old. Most of us oldies work hard without any handouts from governments. If you’ve got a bit of cash in the bank they pretty much want to charge you for keeping it. Now Labor has won another four years in power and want to up their team’s wage bill, where are we going to get the money for that?
CRIS, WULGURU.
All you people who voted Labor back in – how do you feel now with your petty princess, two days after Remembrance Day, not allowing a girl from Penrith over the border to see her dying veteran dad? And what about the $1m+ jobs for the mates on day 2? And let’s not start on ongoing crime, the little darlings
Ags, people used the same arguments back in the ‘80s when they changed the anthem wording from “Australian sons” to “Australians all,” saying that it was history and the ladies should get over it, etc, etc but now 30 years later, we look back and can’t believe there was once a time that we didn't t even acknowledge 50 per cent of the nation. Times change. We’re all Aussies. are going to love it! We get what you non-thinkers have sown. It’s going to be a disastrous four years! PJ, CITY
Debra Gibson (letter 11/11) & Ken Knuth (13/11). Let’s just see what the next four years bring to the Katter Party held seats, now with a majority Labor government not needing the minors. Let’s hope for all communities its not just hot air and then promises two weeks out from the next election only to deliver the outcome Labor want and need once again to stay in power. As for preferences, they shouldn’t be allowed for anyone – first across the line is how it should be. Vote 1. I don’t want to vote for someone I don’t want
Righto minister Stewart, time to pay the piper. You and Anna promised a bundle of money if we elected you so pay up. Driveit and Big Rocks would be a great start. DW, WOODSTOCK
Why cant people rake their leaves up and put them on a garden or in the bin instead of blowing or hosing them on to the street only for these leaves to be blown into the next door neighbours’ yards and gutters. Downright inconsiderate. These leaves and also lawn clippings being blown and hosed on to the street are a danger to traffic and pushbike riders. Enough is enough. CRANKY, 4814
Premier Palaszcuk is clever appointing Scotty as Mining Minister among other things. Being avowed anti-mining he will be hugely successful as he applies his proven talent for doing nothing. JEFF, CONDON.
I hope all the armchair heroes are willing to defend Australia and Australia’s interest next time around. Only then will they have the right to judge the actions of those in combat.
CJ, PALLARENDA
GOOD RIDDANCE TO TRUMP
WHY has the press suddenly taken to calling Trump by the name Don?
This disgracefully divisive populist promised to make America great but instead handed taxes back to himself and the wealthy.
He promised a health care system for all Americans and failed to deliver.
He has taken America to the brink of civil war and is now refusing to leave office.
There is strong speculation that his last act as President will be to pardon himself.
We should treat him like the Christchurch terrorist and never speak his name again.
GLENN WHITE,
Kelso.
WAKE UP TO CHINA THREAT
IT is an unfortunate truth that many of the ill-informed members of the public appear to be unconcerned (or uncaring) about the threat that China poses to the free world.
The threat is, quite bluntly, worlddomination; communism, its rule, its
laws, it is the boss.
The reality would be for us, or more probably our children, the loss of freedom that we take for granted and total unhappiness.
In other words, for us, this is a very serious situation.
The reason for writing this letter is to hopefully attempt to make more people aware of what the future would be for our children, should China succeed.
The Chinese government is aware that war would destroy all that it wishes to take and so economic strategy is its goal – a long-term goal, that is to some degree succeeding.
Over the past 20 years or so, it has flooded the world with cheap, shoddy merchandise that lasts only a short time and then it breaks down or wears out.
It’s meant to be this way and is planned this way and so you buy another one, and again and again.
It has put our factories and industries out of business and it was meant to do just that.
It was planned to make us (the free world) reliant upon it.
Right-wing governments throughout the world have obviously woken up to the strategy and are fighting against it.
Left-wing administrations are often timid and weak in this respect and don’t respond accordingly by putting the situation into the too hard basket or, “we’ll deal with it later”, sort of attitude.
Later is no good, it’s all happening now under our very eyes – eyes that this little note is attempting to open a little wider and make those that don’t care or understand, a little wiser.
Our present federal government is
now under a competent regime that is doing something about the situation and trying to restart our industries and factories again to give the Australian people jobs again and produce well-manufactured goods that will last, and the world will wish to buy, as it was before.
It is up to the people in the country, who care about our children’s future, to help by buying Australian goods and not the other kind. The more of “their” goods you buy, the stronger “they” become – and the weaker we become.
Make up your mind folks, it’s all happening today – tomorrow is too late.
COLIN BAKER, Pentland.