Falling apart

The politics of COVID-19 are becoming increasingly rancorous as the second wave of infections turns Australians against each other and the economic fallout intensifies. Scott Morrison, at the risk of sounding like the prime minister for NSW, talks about the “Victorian wave” of cases and has sided with mining mogul Clive Palmer in his legal challenge against WA’s border closure, saying Palmer will likely win in the High Court. Queensland picks a fight with NSW by declaring the whole of Sydney a COVID hotspot, while communities straddling Victoria’s borders with NSW and South Australia are in a diabolical situation. In NSW, Labor attacks the Coalition over the Ruby Princess debacle, with fresh claims on the ABC last night that a mistake by the Australian Border Force was at least partly responsible for sick passengers being allowed off the stricken ship. In Victoria, the Coalition attacks Labor over the failure, months back, to take up the offer of Defence personnel assistance with hotel quarantine. And The Courier-Mail decides to brand two young women as “enemies of the state”, vilifying them for an outbreak that has yet to occur, resulting in the pair being placed under police protection. 

Bringing the pressure of the second wave down on the heads of two young women of colour is outrageous. In a welcome intervention, Queensland Human Rights commissioner Scott McDougall issued a statement yesterday expressing concern about the widespread publication of their personal details. “Other Queenslanders and people from interstate caught breaching restrictions have not been publicly identified, even when their activities have led to infections or outbreaks – including the Noosa birthday party cluster and many other similar situations,” he said. 

The PM’s finger-pointing at Victoria is strange given epidemiologists say that NSW is on a knife edge and, with more than 150 cases reported in the past 14 days, the virus could easily get out of control. Morrison and Andrews held crisis talks overnight, but today’s stubbornly high case numbers in Victoria – 627 new cases and eight more deaths – show that tougher restrictions are likely to be necessary in both states. The reluctance to toughen up – whether on moving to stage-four restrictions in Melbourne or mask-wearing in Sydney – is disconcerting. The June-quarter economic data coming out is simply stunning, whether it’s the United States’ record [$] GDP plunge (showing a 33 per cent contraction over the year) or this week’s consumer price index fall [$] of nearly 2 per cent, which showed Australia suffering its first bout of deflation in 22 years. The result is that the much-trumpeted economic update that was handed down by the treasurer only a week ago is already out of date, according [$] to Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy’s evidence to the Senate select committee on COVID-19. 

As restrictions tighten, some of the hardest hit are those in towns on Victoria’s border. Electorates affected include Indi – which takes in Wodonga – as well as Nicholls, Mallee, Gippsland and, in NSW, Farrer. Federal MPs Helen Haines, Anne Webster and Sussan Ley are among those who have been holding daily briefings with the NSW Cross-Border Commissioner, James McTavish, about the ballooning impact of the border lockdown. In a statement this week, Haines said thousands of lives along the Murray River had been turned upside down for no good reason. “The fact remains, many people in our border communities, where there is no incidence of COVID-19 community transmission, are unable to go to work and transact business because of the NSW government’s border restrictions. But if you live in Melbourne and Sydney, you can go still go to work. It’s unfair and illogical. We need a better way.”

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