Dear Gladys and ilk.

[dontmissthese]

The only time you can 'feel' the pain of others is to truly experience

the pain of others.

Let's stop 'your' income and tell you that all will be well in 8 weeks time.

Perhaps we will then have some respect for you.

First, let's get rid of this thing that is bruising our lives.
Later, we can discuss your complete lack of empathy.

[twyngwyn]

what can I say....in S.A. we go 'hard and fast'....shut down border crossings and go into 'lockdown'....seems to be working...BUT in saying that, we do not have the population of NSW & Vic (so maybe easier for us)...since 1st lockdown in 2020 we have used the codes & sign-ins (masks are required), people have worked from home....we appear to be more 'obedient',  and willing to 'suck it up' for the general good...eastern states are  looking at 'anarchy' & every man for themselves......just my observation

[not_for_sale2024]

I think she wanted to prove a point when Delta struck in NSW - that her way was better than the Labor Premiers' way. But unfortunately it backfired because she chose politics over health and underestimated the Delta variant. Pretty concerning given the number of infections and deaths that may have been preventable! 

[gutterpunkz05]

Short memories, not that long ago Gladys and Ilk were considered the  Gold Standard, what happened, maybe they are spending to much time on ebay!

[kopenhagen5]

Very difficult for her and decision makers to make calls when they are reliant on information from others.

Add to that the uncertainty of the virus.

Hats off to her and others making a gallant effort in very trying circumstances.

Lets be proactive and supportive in fighting the real battle.................the virus..........not each other.

[not_for_sale2024]

Morrison and Berejiklian started the divisiveness between States last year. Where was the proactive support when he was praising her while criticizing the Labor leaders during the second half of 2020. They both over-prioritized  the economy and opening of the borders at the expense of the health risks to the community. They politicized the pandemic. I agree with you, our battle is with the virus, not between States and a bias Federal Government.

[countessalmirena]

I had a great deal of criticism for Daniel Andrews for what happened last year. I still criticise him for what happened last year, but he and his government have done much better this year and I don't fault him for choosing lockdowns when they're necessary.

In my view, NSW managed most of last year (apart from the cruiseship horror) exceptionally well, and ditto for much of this year. They did not make the decisions that I thought were necessary at the time with this incursion of the current Delta variant crisis, and I feel Dr Chant gave the wrong advice and that Ms Berejiklian made the wrong decision AT THE OUTSET. I think they're making the right choices now, hard as they may be. They are making tough but necessary choices now, and I disagree completely with those who are shouting out about the current measures. Do those people not think we KNOW how it feels? How many Melbourne businesses went to the brink? How many people were hanging on financially like grim death? How much we suffered - financially, mentally, emotionally, educationally, with pressures upon individuals and families from every direction? But we know that we only got the better of the viral outbreaks because - in the end - the necessary lockdown measures were imposed for as long as it took to get those numbers right down, down, down, down, and whooof! down to nothing.

I can continue to blame the Victorian government for not taking short sharp hard measures right at the outset. 700 or so people would not have died. I cannot blame the Victorian government for imposing the hard measures at last, and keeping them in place until we won a hard-fought victory that cost us all in some way.

The NSW government also made mistakes at the outset. Not now. Delta has to be squashed flat. The longer people flout the rules, the longer the lockdown - so I hope that those who are just sneaking through the health orders with the attitude that their flouting won't really matter will STOP it.

Good luck to everyone in NSW, and in particularly Sydney. It's not going to be easy. It is going to be necessary. The majority of people are doing the right thing, and you deserve to see those around you also doing the right thing, to make this as short as possible.

[dontmissthese]

My OP was more expressing my general

disgust for politicians who 'weep' for us.
For a politician a lock down means their

favourite restaurant will be closed.
For real people it means real hardship which

becomes all the more heart breaking when

children are concerned.
It's little wonder that revolutions have occurred

in the past. No chance in these times with

the giant spy in the sky called the internet.
On a slight tangent.

One day there will be a rapidly acting killer virus.

Or so the announcement will say.

We will have to stay indoors and be gaoled for

being out without a valid excuse.

There will be a curfew.

The laws are 'already' in place.

[countessalmirena]

I don't care, really, what lockdown means for a politican. (I doubt that it means nothing more than favourite restaurant being closed. Even politicians have family, including vulnerable family members whom they would long to see in person but can't because of the risk of passing on COVID-19.)

Of course there is an economic fallout affecting people in lockdown. Sadly, that has come to be exemplified in genuinely horrible circumstances; some families have refused to come forward to be tested or to go to hospital when they have symptoms of COVID-19, or when they know they were at a tier 1 site and are at high risk of having become infected, and so on... For whatever reasons it may be (and it's often economic), they are are not coming forward, not getting vaccinated, not getting tested, not asking for medical care - and the upshot is that someone in the family dies. What worth does the economic argument have then? With perhaps the main breadwinner dead, he/she can't go to work anyway...

If they had come forward, they would have a significantly higher chance of survival. They would also have a significantly higher chance of not infecting others who in turn infect others and they would infect others and so on... with more deaths, more grief, more incalculably suffering not only in personal loss but also in families' earning situations.

It is short-sighted, tragically short-sighted, for families in such a situation to refuse to abide by the public health orders and not to do everything they can to protect their family members.

[chameleon54]

The elephant in the room and Emperer has no clothes is that South Australia does not have the very large migrant populations that Melbourne and Sydney have. It might not be politically correct to point it out, but that is where a lot of the problems for the major cities are coming from. Both in people " returning to Australia " from countries with huge COVID problems ( where they resided until COVID turned their chosen homes in the old country into health hazards )  and also with local ethnic communities not following health advice.

Initially that may have been because of messaging problems in non English speaking communities, but it has been 18 months now. The messages are out there but there simply seems to be too many people from minority communities who are not respecting them. The removalists who have recently gone on road trips while knowingly COVID positive, infecting several states are a classic example of lack of respect for our leaders and the wider Australian community..