Being a resourceful fellow and having the U tube hit "9 Coronas" (a parody of the hit song My Sharona by the Knack from 1979) repeating in my brain, I headed to the bottle shop and purchased a slab of Coronas.
https://youtu.be/HJ19qh4g2-o
That evening I drank the mandatory 9 Coronas followed by a glass of Shiraz (just to keep my fruit intake up).
The following morning suffering a mild headache and slight nausea I figured that had done the trick and my body was well prepared for any potential Corona Virus invasion!
Seriously though, what a mess we appear to be in.
I get that our political leaders are dealing with an unprecedented situation and are trying to do their best but in light of the serious and rapid developments taking place, the events that have unfolded in the last 2 weeks have made me angry about our Governments failure to act sooner.
In todays Manifesto, Ernesto will just share his thoughts on a few points regarding this crisis Australia and the world finds itself in.
- We were warned about Corona virus months ago but it would appear this warning fell on deaf ears judging by the lack of preparation by the Government and relevant Authorities.
- Being an Island we had the opportunity to protect ourselves by closing the borders weeks ago and didn't take it.
- It was only two weeks ago that we had big crowds attending the NRL opening weekend, indeed our Prime Minister showing "leadership" by saying he would be attending the Sharks opening game, how irresponsible!
- Then we had thousands attending a big "happy clapper" Hillsong Conference in Sydney that same weekend. (The inadequate ban of gatherings of more that 500 people surprisingly didn't start until the day after the conference finished). What tha?
- We had the Ruby Princess debacle in Sydney, with apparently over one eighth of all NSW cases coming from that ship. It would appear Peter Duttons "Border Farce" is very good at stopping a couple of leaky fishing boats filled with refugees fleeing war in their country but incapable of protecting our borders from a cruise ship full of people with infectious diseases. With the blame being pointed at NSW from the Federal Government and visa versa, this is but another example in the long line of buck passing between Federal and State governments and another reason of why we might be better off without states.
- Having said that it would appear the State Premiers are leading the way in response to this crisis, dragging our Prime Muppett along with them.
- Morrison's erratic and late responses make him look like the naughty schoolboy in an exam, trying to peek over the shoulder of Gladys, Dan and Jacinda in order to see what they are writing because he didn't do the homework himself. He stands up on the podium in a press conference with Australian flags draped behind him trying to look presidential but the only president he looks like is that muppet from the USA, the Donald.
- Decades of the conservatives stigmatising the unemployed and making unemployment benefits both harder to access and impossible to live on, have come home to roost with the breakdown of the Centrelink computer system the other day. The minister responsible Stuart "Rorter" Robert initially blamed hackers for the problem then admitted an hour later the system couldn't cope with all the applications.
- Recent news that a few regional newspapers (like the Sunraysia Daily) have shut down and more in jeopardy due to the drying up of advertising revenue means it is even more important that we have a properly funded ABC. Its worth in the bushfire crisis and now in this Corona crisis is clear for all to see yet this Government is slowly strangling it to death or maybe setting it up for privatisation.
- And lets not forget the good old NBN. As more and more people and businesses work from home, the shortcomings of the Abbott/Turnbull inspired destruction of Labor's fibre to the premises NBN at the behest of their good friend Rupert, will increasingly anger Australians from all political persuasions. It is no surprise that the NBN has asked streaming platforms such as Netflix and Stan to reduce the quality of their stream to free up valuable bandwidth. This will be of little help to the unfortunate Australians who ended up with their service being delivered to their premises over a couple of hundred meters of 50 year old Telstra copper.
- I cannot understand why the Government hasn't copied the British Governments idea of paying 80% of workers wages. This would ensure the workers at least had certainty of income and hopefully a job to return to. It would mean they can pay rent to the landlord who in turn can pay his or her mortgage to the bank thus taking pressure off the banks and the real estate industry, cos love em or hate em, if the banks go down we are really in a pickle.
How can this Federal Government expect Australians to take anything they say seriously when their default setting is to obfuscate or lie.
The messaging on this issue is confused and confusing , e.g. 5 people to a wedding but 10 to a funeral and its still OK to go to school and get a haircut.
It is time they stood back and let the scientists and medical experts do what has to be done, but don't expect that to happen, this government has a long history of ignoring scientific facts.
Finally don't forget your part in this, wash your hands, practise social distancing, stay home and only go out for essentials, like Coronas!
Take care and don't forget to click the U Tube link to 9 Coronas!
