One size doesn’t fit all

The use of the word “unprecedented” since a pesky pandemic called coronavirus came into our lives is, well, “unprecedented”.

I guess that means we’re all in agreement then — we haven’t seen anything like it in our lifetimes and every day is different to the day before.

Like parenting, there’s no manual for it, but Australia and indeed Queensland have done a fine job of keeping most of us out of harm’s way so far.

The tricky bit now is where do we go from here, and how fast?

For parents, that’s akin to deciding whether you should be cool and let your young teenager go to a party with alcohol or not. Boundaries. Life is always about boundaries … and consequences.

Already, there appears a divide, with business and industry calling for more agility with COVID-19 easing of restrictions, while there is undoubtedly an underlying feeling that state borders should not be lifted too soon.

It’s an unenviable position our state politicians find themselves in.

How you feel about restrictions easing — when and how — will largely be dictated by your own personal circumstance.

For the Parramatta Park cafe owner I spoke to this week, the borders can’t be lifted quickly enough. He sprouted the stats: the number of Aussies who have had it, how many had died and the cost to his business and the local economy.

“I don’t like Trump, but even the US hasn’t shut down business completely,” he laboured the point.

He said he wouldn’t be bothering to put out tables in his cafe yet either, because it was too onerous for his customers and it just simply wasn’t worth it.

It’s easy when you talk about statistics. They’re just cold, hard numbers; a bit like the road toll. Put a face to the number though and it’s a different story.

There’s no denying we’re in a fantastic position, though, and it’s now time that our government considered ditching its one-stitch-fits-all security blanket.

Tourism and business leaders from the Far North to Mackay want our gates unlocked to unleash a spread-out population on our economy.

We don’t have the luxury of a large population within 250km like the southeast wonderland. And regardless of whether it’s the right or wrong thing to do, if the Premier and her chief health officer keep the padlocks on our borders for months on end, it will be like lead tied around our economy’s ankles.

Creating a travel bubble from Marlborough to the Far North allows us to at least have a crack at getting back on our feet. Just imagine how much better off a town like Port Douglas would be if people from Mackay and Townsville could book a little vacation there.

Even if the virus hasn’t affected your personal freedoms much and you haven’t lost your job, don’t think you won’t be affected. Fewer businesses and fewer people working means there are far fewer people paying taxes.

The economic bill is a cold, hard number that, in our country, is greater than the death toll.