Re: Pandemic Management bill. Health and well-being Act 2021.
Reply #9 –
To me, this is where our Federal system fails us. Surely National Cabinet should be able to develop parameters for consistent legislation when national issues like pandemics are concerned. I get that the States and Territories are different and may require nuanced responses to suit their particular circumstances, but it shouldn't be too hard to come up with a set of minimum requirements to apply in all jurisdictions.
I think patience is a key here, we should not disregard the fact that a good chunk of our Federal Politicians are Victorian.
The concept of a "Them vs us" (State vs Federal) mentality is a synthetic construct of media and social media that doesn't really exist at critical political and legal levels. I even use it in my Anti-ACB rants. That sort of finger-pointing works in the newspapers and on Facebook for trivial issues, it may motivate a State of Origin team, but it doesn't fly in the High Court and never will.
I think people should be far more fearful that assuming the pandemic subsides, the Federal and State authorities kybosh any and all forward planning, much like they did after the original SARS outbreak subsided. It's like those political claims that global warming doesn't really exist which are continually being raised after a short cold snap.
The will to act is weak, and the inertia to resist any or every change is strong, it says more about humanity than anything else!
Do we always prefer to preserve our way of pre-existing way of life, at the potential cost of lives, is doing nothing a valid action for either side of this argument? If so or if not how can either side win the debate?