Last Thursday, in an act of negligence bordering on the criminal, 2700 passengers were waved off a cruise ship — despite their status as floating incubators of disease — and onto the streets of Sydney.
Since then, 130 Ruby Princess passengers have tested positive for coronavirus. It was the equivalent of giving Typhoid Mary the key to New York City.
Ever since, the NSW and federal governments have been trying to blame each other and Carnival, owner of the ship and the giant of the wretched, toxic and environmentally damaging global cruise industry.
NSW Health says it was following federal guidelines and letting people off ships is a matter for the Australian Border Force. Border Force says NSW Health graded the ship as low-risk. In the latest instalment, there was a report today that Premier Gladys Berejiklian had told colleagues it was ABF’s fault. The ABF in turn this morning blamed NSW Health again.
No one, anywhere, has yet been held to account for materially adding to the crisis in NSW by allowing potentially hundreds of contagious people to wander Sydney and points further. But the NSW government is pushing for even more draconian lockdown restrictions on people than the Morrison government wants and is quick to lecture us about our failure to comply with its demands.
Yesterday, as vast queues again formed outside Centrelink offices and the MyGov site — to which capacity had, we were assured, been “surged” — again went down, the best the responsible minister Stuart Robert could offer was “my bad”, like some American sitcom child, to Alan Jones, whose normally ferocious powers of political criticism and forensic eye for governmental ineptitude were strangely absent.
Neither Robert nor anyone else will seemingly be held accountable. Last night, Scott Morrison could only summon a “we are terribly sorry” for the tens of thousands of victims of his government’s incompetence — although that’s more than his government’s robodebt victims ever got.
Normally, we could expect parliament to provide a platform for scrutiny and, if not proper accountability, then at least some partisan abuse. But there’s no parliament. Federal parliament has given itself a break until August. The NSW parliament is off until September. Spring St went home last week “until further notice”. Queensland’s parliament knocked off for up to six months.
Backbenchers will still be paid, of course — circumstances hundreds of thousands of workers suddenly unemployed as a public health measure could only dream of. Conducting business from home via Zoom and Skype is apparently OK for the rest of us but not good enough for MPs.
The South Australian, WA and Tasmanian parliaments, however, are continuing, at least for the moment.
Ministers ducking responsibility, or state and federal politicians trying to blame one another, is of course business as usual politicking. The political class has been insisting business as usual politicking is suspended and we’re all in this together.
That’s a nice grab for the evening news bulletins but doesn’t mean anything unless it’s accompanied by more than a mere reduction in partisan point scoring and frequent COAG meetings.
Lives and livelihoods are on the line in a far more stark fashion than is normally the case for policymakers. How many people will die because they were infected by a Ruby Princess passenger? How many will fall ill having picked up the virus waiting in a Centrelink queue? What further damage will Centrelink, more used to regarding the jobless as scroungers to be demonised and punished than clients to be served, inflict on the hundreds of thousands of Australians who suddenly find themselves without work?
The stakes are dramatically higher than normal for Australians. So why aren’t the stakes dramatically higher for officials, elected and appointed? If hundreds of thousands of people can lose their jobs through no fault of their own, at the stroke of a politician’s pen, why aren’t those who are exacerbating these disastrous circumstances also losing their jobs?
It’s pretty straightforward: leaders can’t demand trust and compliance from the community — compliance that inflicts life-altering economic damage — while continuing business-as-usual avoidance of accountability.
Whoever was responsible for the Ruby Princess can join the queue at Centrelink. Stuart Robert can go enjoy that extended break from parliament. His staff and senior Centrelink officials can learn what joblessness is like first hand.
If its staff are found to have misled officials, the company that owns the Ruby Princess should be excluded from Australian ports, if and when that appalling industry is allowed to restart.
Too harsh? Maybe, but that’s the price of the trust politicians are demanding of us.
Perfectly reasonable requests. It is becoming clear current bunch of political representatives floundering out of their depth. The double standards and hypocrosy is becoming unbearable! Sensibly, moderately voiced here but paywalled, so wider public won’t hear it put so clearly. Mass media prefer sycophantcy to honesty and accountability. T he current in power crop willing to impose torturous sanctions on disadvantaged and pass the buck. If they feel no shame ordinary people will have to what they can to show their disgust..however they can within current safety restrictions. In normal times general public could not care less,it seems, about incompetence and venality of self selecting coterie of party members. Now people have to face consequences of such complacency. H ow many going to die unnecessarily from these cynical buffoons mistakes and idiocy.? The numbers are going to be shocking..impact huge..how much do you think they will try to spin the gruesome deaths that will take place?! There are calculations on mortality rates with lock downs or not public are not aware of. Honesty and Ethics not on offer from government. People will discover after the event. Reality check will hit, but after requires groups to maintain memory. Spanish flu of 1918 disappeared from cultural memory partly through war time censorship. We should avoid that outcome but it takes effort. Exclusive focus on soldier memorials problematic and overwhelmed with sentimentality. We need activated community groups working to press political practical welfare health reforms to adress weaknesses exposed by this crisis. Also need to be resolute enough to continue after crisis has passed, strengthened perhaps in memory and by weight of numbers of lives cut short.
Certainly it is unsustainable for heads not to roll from liberals displays of incompetence. The sooner the better.
There is history of venality at circular key! The Cruise ships symbolise perfectly toxic nature of gross and increasing wealth inequalities. Who is paying off who? What is the money trail here?The ships have been clearly irresponsible, never mind their toxic sulphur laden fuel. Their access here should be revoked on health grounds alone. Subject to strict and limited public interest regulation. Corruption issues looked at more closely. As with Casinos maybe they inevitable vector of corruption as well as disease.
Not too harsh. These guys seem to float in a cloud of immunity (political and legal, not viral).
The Ruby Princess issue is criminal negligence and legal steps should be taken to ensure that those responsible (Border Force and NSW Health) are held accountable. Anyone who came off that ship and is aware of people catching the virus after being in contact with them should immediately (or as soon as they are well enough) be in touch with one of the big class action law firms because this was simply reprehensible. And to now see the useless buckpassing between them is seriously pathetic and once again undermines any trust in the system. Do these departments not speak to each other? Did no-one pick up the phone and check on the appropriate protocols? Not to mention the cruise company…. did they not check with Customs before unloading all these people? Useless bloody idiots is the kindest description….
As for Stuart Robert, clearly his religion excuses him from any ministerial responsibility because it’s all about getting and staying rich, not actually doing one’s job and looking after people under your care, which all those who must now access Centrelink services are. Put him up against wall and spray him with the virus. Then fire him and take away his parliamentary pension. He deserves nothing else.
Controlling who can enter the country is fundamentally and absolutely a federal government responsibility. Relying on advice, from say the NSW Government, is a lame excuse, worse even than the ‘dog ate my homework’, as the responsibly tests with the Stazi, sorry, Border Force. This was a blatant failure of a CORE responsibility…..It wasn’t failing to detect someone trying to sneak into the country; it wasn’t like the risks were unknown. Both the head of the Department and the relevant acting minister must go, AND there needs to be a criminal investigation. ….I’m not sure if the crime but criminal negligence and misconduct in public office comes to mind.
I’m not so sure about Robert. He just lied. If that were to be something to be held to account for, I think the Governor-General would have real difficulties finding any parliamentarians able to be sworn into Executive.
Bernard, I would have added that Cormann and McKenzie and maybe Morrison, also need to be brought to account for the unlawful expenditure of public funds, including recovery of as much of the funds as possible from them personally and which would inevitably result in them being bankrupted and hence, then unfit to hold office. This would be a very strong general deterrent on future governments and ministers ignoring the Commonwealth Constitution. Without it, and particularly with the current crisis, we are really witnesses a quiet Morrison ‘coup’ with Prime Ministerial fiat now over-riding the rule of law.
From my youthful follies of sailing and delivering yachts across the pacific I can say, that the putting ashore of 2.700 people without a quarantine or health officer check is a remarkable “cluster fuck”of epic proportions, which could probably only be achieved by Border Force.
I have only come back into Australia by yacht once they were squished together like mismatched plastacine
and I can say that carrying a gun and a taser was definitely not how I remembered Customs, Immigration and Quarantine officers, who used to politely but firmly check the log, food stores, first aid box including drugs and passports whilst chatting over a cup of tea about our voyage.
The NSW government may classify any vessel as “fairy dust” for all it should concern the very relevant health/ quarantine officer who should have boarded the vessel with the customs officer/Border Force officer and spoken to the ships’ medical officer/ doctor, before anyone left the ship.
As there was a patient who needed hospitalization I suspect that would/ should have alarms sounding in someone’s head.
If this did not occur (which it appears very likely that it didn’t) then, yes, the ultimate responsibility lies with Border Force.
I suppose the name gives it away really.