It is a fast moving topic. It is obviously important like any crisis event to keep up as best as is possible. We’ve been following the ABC (www.abc.net.au) on line. The ABC has a section dedicated to the latest advice. There are other news services. Each provides coverage aligned to it’s customer base and news cycle. The ABC has the broadest local coverage and is independent. While the AAP will be all gone by the end of June.
Each State Govt and the Federal have dedicated advice, although we’ve found that between the ABC and Federal Govt site all we needed. The ABC and other news sites tend to be a little ahead of the updating on the official web links.
When doing contingency planning, you look at ALL possible things that may occur, no matter how unlikely. You start planning for the most likely ones to occur and how to respond. In Australia, we have recurring fire, drought, and flood so they should be planned for. The scale of these are increasing, so that should have been allowed for when doing the plans.
The recurrent biological epidemics (human and animal) have also been predicted for many years, but along with climate change this has been ignored and these areas within the Public Service have been all but closed down.
The response to each of these is different, but there are also core requirements and responses that are the same. There should be caches of supplies such as protective equipment, food, shelter, … etc. that can be rapidly deployed. There should also be a predetermined command and control mechanism that is on call and have rehearsed their roles. Installation of back up communications, and back-up sites for everything in case of damage… etc, etc, etc.
It is clear that none of this was adequately planned for. There were inadequate supplies in storage, and there was no prepared command and control. Which is why they are managing by committee and playing catch-up.
I’m pretty sure they have no plans for any action in the case of an asteroid impact either. The LNP ended funding (wages for 1FT and 1PT (me) employee, and zero for our boss) for the very successful search program (even if I do say so myself ) at Siding Spring in 1996.
NASA funded a larger survey 2002-2012 (same 2 employees, but with upgraded equipment), but that’s quite a while ago now, and I don’t think anyone is searching the far southern skies these days, other than a few dedicated amateur astronomers (who do very good work), but can never achieve anything like full coverage to find every potentially dangerous object.
Contingency planning… who needs it when you have Scotty from Marketing in charge!
The thing is, as soon as the word came out of China that there was a really virulent bug on the loose, they should have started right then and there, working on what needed to be done. And they should have put that planning in the hands of people who know about such things and who coudl TELL them what to do. As it is, they are making it up as they go along. I started social distancing at the beginning of February when we had our first death. If I could see where it was going, why couldnt they? Oh yeah… the economy. Well, theyve blown a hole in that by not acting sooner.
That is so. This was not unpredicted, it is not similar to a large asteroid strike in likelihood. This kind of novel disease is to be expected. Sure you can’t say exactly when it will come but you can say that it will probably come within decades. This isn’t the first and it won’t be the last. As I said in another thread I just hope we learn from it.
More seriously, you cannot plan for all possibilities because you don’t know all possibilities. There are also possibilities that you might learn about but for which you cannot change the outcome. Imagine for instance that an extremely large rock was on a collision course with Earth, and there was no possible way to stop it. Should the fact even be made public, given how the public has shown it responds in a crisis?
Then you have the range of events - from electromagnetic storms emanating from the sun, to insane elected officials, to COVID-19 - that can all have serious consequences for us all. You can plan for the first - and planning is happening because we know it’s inevitable - but the second and third are unknown until they suddenly become known.
Worse, our leaders’ first political instincts are to say that everything’s fine and we’re business as usual. If they do actually prevent a crisis then are they rewarded at the polls? No, people with 20/20 hindsight state that Australia was always going to be fine during the Global Financial Crisis. What crisis?
There is no reward in a politician spending on and planning for even every conceivable eventuality, and every reason not to. That is a problem, and it will remain after the current pandemic fades into history.
When doing contingency planning, sometimes you have to accept there is nothing you can do, but react as best you can using plans already in place.
There is a reward, in that they are more likely to get re-elected if they respond well. Contrawise, if they don’t respond well they lose popularity and then lose elections; as did George W Bush with Hurricane Katrina.
I would think that WHO would have been warning Governments around the world in 2019 that Coronavirus was a very serious epidemic. WHO had a lot of information coming out of China and then other countires as coronavirus started to spread. Unfortunately, I think Governments did not heed the warnings until the epidemic reached their country. We should also not forget the Princess cruise ship in Japan’s harbour was all over the news.
You probably have confused George HW Bush and George W Bush. Very different presidents, the former should have been re-elected but was not because the American far right thought he should have invaded Iraq but taking advice on the consequences, he did not; one H Ross Perot entered the race and diverted enough votes from George HW Bush so Bill Clinton won.
(paragraph edited for completeness) A decade later the response to hurricane Katrina (2005) was a classic screw up that many consider was a direct result of W essentially dismantling FEMA (emergency management, like our SES on steriods but then diminished since spending money for something only needed in a rare emergency was counter to Republican economic dogma), but W did get re-elected although before Katrina. Obama winning (2008) had less to do with Katrina and much to do with ‘the moment in time’ noting presidential limits and a weak Republican candidate (McCain) who cynically picked a far right VP (Palin) who did not acquit herself well in the campaign.
Sometimes a pollie screwing up royally is forgiven by rusted on voters or the fear of ‘socialism’ or ‘lefties’ as is so common in the USA - not that ‘bubba’ really understands ideological or partisan or political concepts beyond ‘red’ and ‘blue’ and advertising dollars, facebook, trolls, biased media, and so on sway them while truth does not.
Our current mob in Canberra as well as certain states have not been acquitting themselves with any obvious coordination or focused plans beyond the headless chook analogy, from Centrelink to BorderForce to state Health yet I doubt the Ministers leading those agencies will lose a single vote because of it, although one or two in the agencies might be scapegoated before it is over.
I agree entirely with bripenny. Supermarkets are going to become the place to get coronavirus! Old and disabled people without social or aged care networks are being forced to congregate at special times at supermarkets…sounds like they are trying to get rid of us by infecting us all at once. The sensible solution would be to close the supermarkets and let everyone order on line and get groceries delivered to our door. Special arrangements would have to be made for people without computers. Yes, there are still some such people. Even ordering over a smart phone would be confusing for some people. If only Woolworths and Coles would institute a system that worked – for country people as well as city people.
Question time. My car registration expires in May. Should the shutdown become more stringent or car maintenance garages are closed individually or on mass and your car registration expires. By law you cannot drive an unregistered motor vehicle. So, how do all the people who have vehicles with expired registration get a registration inspection completed? I have asked a question on the NSW Roads and Maritime Services website, just waiting on the reply.
I expect there will be many more with the same potential predicament as yourself. To date, most state government have been somewhat flexible in arrangements until things return to normal. Hopefully this year and while mandated controls are in place, the NSW government removes the requirement for inspections and allows remote/online renewal of affected vehicles.
I recently faced the problem of having to return a form to have my licence renewed. The form said I should take it to the nearest office and did not provide a postal address. On doctor’s advice I am not going to stand in a long queue in some fetid government office just to lodge a form.
As I was in town anyway I went to the state services office to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised to find a helpful officer at the door who took the form off me without getting too close and quickly checked it and lodged it on my behalf, I was there for about 40 seconds. At least somebody in the bureaucracy is paying attention.
THe government may do well with communications which is basically from the ABC who are doing a great job and communications are largely down to them. I am very worried with their handling of the the economic crisis which has not been handled well at all…very ad hoc and delayed, putting thousands in economic hardship.
Relatives suggested we try video-calling. OK, my laptop has a camera. The up-nostril angle isn’t the best, so I went looking for a webcam. All the sites I tried were out of stock. Many led me through a lot of hoops before letting me know. Seems Australia’s not alone.
and no, I’m not desperate enough to try ordering from the US or UK.
) at Siding Spring in 1996.
