One of the issues with this Covid 19 crisis is that it is unique. It is unlike any Critical episode that has been encountered by anybody working in this field. Personally we have worked in critical incidents of many descriptions for decades. Mayhem and chaos and death or injury. In a critical episode you discern a beginning and middle an end. Elsewhere I have suggested that an arbitrary time of 6 weeks can be associated with that season.
In our work in Inwit the occasional miraculous near miss happens. Where death should have happened but wonderfully never occurred. We remember one episode . Without exaggeration. Not just one person, but dozens should have died in the same explosion on the mine site. On other occasions it did’t make sense how individuals survived or just walked away.
At this point in Mid April here in Australia it is far too early to begin any narrative about having missed a terrible pandemic. It certainly will not be 6 weeks !! Australia, appears on the surface to have missed the horrors of the United States or Italy or Spain. Neighbouring Countries like Indonesia and PNG appear to be in sad disarray and we can only speculate as to the extreme impact of Covid 19 currently. North Korea according to their Great Leader is entirely free of the Flu. Apparently he hasn’t been seen publicly for weeks. I won’t include the Chinese leaderships statistical releases. They have consistently lied to their own people, imprisoned those brave enough to blow the whistle and kept the rest of the world in the dark so they wouldn’t lose commerce or lose face. We are wise not to enter into relaxed state currently or to presume we can stick our collective heads above the trench . The same feelings of relief on hearing a near miss rise up in me. The stark description of the event. The story of someone near the juggernaut and the imagination transporting us into the story. Then the relief and disbelief. Then something like a joy for the other person ,a total stranger , having dodged death. I think for many of us, we are wanting to be in that place of relief and happiness that as a country we have dodged something. It is far too early and we do ourselves no favours to imagine that the Flu will not reconfigure itself or again torpedo our enterprises, our Tax receipts and ASX and Gross national product our futures individually, as families, as a nation.
But we are required to make the journey out. It is to be primarily a calibrated one of balancing economic interests with social and national liberties and health concerns. The current Crisis largesse by Government is very generous by any global standards. But it is unsustainable and while expenditure has been on a virtual war footing it cannot last indefinitely. There are drastic and limited time’s when its reasonable that all should go hungry that none should starve. It is also reasonable to say that lifes contingencies produce this sharp and acute response. But none of us should see it as a permanent way of life.
Similarly we have surrendered so many freedoms of movement and assembly all in the collective good and our own personal health and safety. But compliance and conformity to involuntary community is likely to be as sustainable to holding breath underwater. Public statements by Police spokespersons as to how we should be acting or how stupid we are, are out of place. Premiers or Prime-ministers have that responsibility. And we have the privilege of voting them out if we don’t like their tone. Being monitored via App and having Government and apple and google assuring us all is safeguarded and secure is mendacious. Such invitations or requirements by Government even 2 months ago would have created a spill in parliament and an election, and quite rightly so.
It is somewhat premature to speculate about a new world. We will continue to trade with China and Australian heavy manufacturing will still be limited. Heavy manufacturing took us down a path of tax subsidies, tariffs ,and higher prices. Our wealth is built on foreign investment. The Chinese will figure prominently. As will overseas investment ,open trade ,migration and selling massive amounts of our natural mineral resources and gas and and oil. All appropriate and wealth producing. We should be wise about the staples. Like who controls our food and water and supply lines and the supply and manufacturing of our pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.
