POLITICIANS WAFFLE AS CITIES BURN WITH FEVER
Clarity of messages is never more important than in a crisis – and our leaders have again dropped the ball.
TRUE confession time.
I don’t know much about how to handle a pandemic. Thankfully, God gave me some good measure of commonsense. Such a shame that so many leaders missed out on this in the human production line.
One thing I do know – people need concise and clear messaging. They don’t want spin, they don’t want b/s, they don’t want grandstanding and confused messages. Sorry, simple and not that difficult.
So why do we have so many leaders around the world who insist on being such dills at this time, sprouting totally confusing messages? I have so much material to pick from I could fill the Saturday Bulletin twice over and still have space for more stupid mixed messaging!
Allow me to reduce it to two, one local, as in Queensland, and one international, as in the entire globe. See, I do have selfcontrol.
OK first cab off the rank. Our Premier actually manages to keep a straight face in announcing, for the good of you all in this desperate time, I must, my Government must, shut all our borders. The risk of contamination is just too great. Then in the almost next breath comes … I have had advice there is no risk to hundreds of thousands of you standing in long lines and stuck in voting centres getting this virus. We must allow the council elections (and two byelections) to proceed! Hello – you’re kidding right? Is this stupid or what? Premier show some proper leadership, this is completely nuts.
If someone is advising you it’s fine to proceed today, then I think it’s time to issue that someone with their marching orders. This one probably agrees with Donald Trump – “it will be all over by Easter”. To quote an often-used line – this does not pass the pub test, not even close. That of course would be in a pub now “closed down”, but it’s OK to have thousands stuck together, come out from their selfimposed isolation and vote. Of course, just to add to the mixed messaging, the very same Premier yesterday stood down the Queensland Parliament from sitting because of the virus. Pardon?
So, it’s OK to enforce these elections and put the great unwashed out there at risk, but we, the special group known as Queensland politicians, we can’t all meet in our democratic institution, the risk is far too great! Now I feel special, or is that democratic cannon fodder special?
Making people go out and vote right now is sheer bloody madness. And please don’t tell us everyone will keep their compulsory 2m distance.
Just have a look at the photo taken this week on the Gold Coast with people lining up to pre-vote. Multiply that by a factor of 100 times and you get a picture of what will unfold today, all over Queensland. It’s not democracy in action – it’s stupidity in action.
All week I have had elderly neighbours and others talk to me about how unsafe they think this is. They are in real fear of it, particularly the older members of our community. In simple terms Premier they are confused with your messaging, as are we all. If in two weeks’ time we have a major outbreak of the virus in Queensland it will be at your feet. You had the laws to change this, move it back six months, but you chose to do absolutely nothing.
In NSW, which didn’t face council elections until September (clearly a way off), they simply made a sensible decision and shifted it back a year to allow sensible continuity to take place and not put their constituents at any further risk. Why couldn’t we have done the same? That is a disgrace, you have totally lost me (and I’m sure thousands of others all over our once great state).
Now my international example of stupid mixed messaging. Boy I had lots to choose from – stupidity and leadership love each other’s company, it would seem.
How about Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – who’s he you ask? Well he is the chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO), a very important (and one would hope impartial) global body overseeing all our collective health. What an important job. Again, it’s not unreasonable to think this bloke would get it right. Then you would be wrong – his mixed messaging is gold medal standard.
He has applauded the job President Xi Jinping and China have done in containing the COVID-19 virus – and its transparency. Its transparency – are you a clown? Seriously who are you kidding? How about the doctors in Wuhan, who in very early January were publicly disgraced by the Chinese Government and forced to confess for spreading false rumours that a major new respiratory outbreak was taking place there? How about the WHO accepting the early indications from the Chinese Government medical authorities that there appeared to be no risk of human-to-human spread of this virus? Hello – with transparency like this Tedros you’re killing us mate! Well, being accurate, about 21,000 of us to date!
And of course, the WHO has made no public announcements or recommendations for China (and other Asian countries) to immediately shut down their so called “wet” markets, where all these “animal to human” viruses seem to have originated. Now that would be leadership. That is what you get paid the big bucks for – so its not too late (unlike our must-have local government elections) to step up, offer leadership and help get us collectively out of the worst crisis on your watch imaginable.
So Tedros – you are lacking credibility old boy. Stop pandering to China and do a proper global job, all our lives may depend on it.
What a week. I need a strong drink – stay safe and look after your families please.