News’ helicopters

T Sharples, Tweed Heads

I woke early this morning (yet again) to the thumping sound of News’ helicopters taking shots of the traffic chaos building up [at the border] to entertain Queenslanders tonight. They love watching it, but they sure wouldn’t like living in it.

I said to my wife, ‘Quick, what do you want at the shops?’ From previous experience I know once the traffic backs up to the Boyds Bay bridge we simply cannot get over the Gold Coast highway to the Tweed Mall, and if we take the M1 down to South Tweed to shop we cannot get back any time soon.

Queensland police were stopping all vehicles and questioning drivers as to their purpose for entering Queensland in an attempt to create an administrative deterrent on top of the already restrictive entry requirements. Therefore, so called border bubble zone residents get discriminated against – big time. We’re unable to cross to see family. Teachers and child care workers have now been struck out as essential workers who may cross. In fact, as of this coming Friday, essential workers will have to be vaccinated [at least one jab] in order to cross. Queenslanders of course don’t have to submit to such rules.

Who’s running the country? The state premiers are, under their various conflicting and ever-changing health orders. National Cabinet has descended into a joke, and there is no end in sight to the division and chaos as trust in government plummets and the political bagging and point scoring game heats up.

There’s little light at the end of the tunnel when mandatory vaccinations become the norm to cross state borders, enter buildings, go to work, go to the gym, enrol at university and so on. And what’s our PM doing? Running away from all of it saying ‘it’s a matter for the various states, employers, building owners, airlines etc’. Yet latest opinion polls still show Scott Morrison is the country’s preferred PM, 49 per cent to Anthony Albanese’s 39 per cent.

If Labor cannot land a glove on a prime minister who has abandoned the very core of his duty – leadership – then it had better change leaders, or lose the next ‘unloseable’ election as well.