At the start I was quite surprised that Australia seemed to be taking a fairly calm approach to the virus. It is, even in normal times, an over-regulated nanny state. Anyone who has seen the almost fanatical obsession with speed limit enforcement here knows the Police love handing out fines for the smallest infraction.
After shutting the borders to filthy overseas travellers there was much back slapping and self-congratulations from the State Governments that they were going to eradicate the virus like St. Jacinda of NZ. Of course all they did was delay the inevitable like a few heretics dared to suggest.
A few weeks ago there was the start of an increase in positive cases, it would appear spread by untrained security guards engaged by the Victorian Government to guard quarantine hotels. There were reports of people being let out, poor hygiene/infection control and even a couple of stories of these security guards having sex with quarantined travellers!! The number of positive cases has risen somewhat and has been bumping along at 300-500 new cases per day for a couple of weeks now. This coincided with a dramatic change in the atmosphere. The other States shut borders with Victoria if they weren’t already shut, the mainstream media went into full panic porn mode and has only got worse since and the state’s Chief Bedwetter, sorry Health Officer, has been advocating for ever more draconian restrictions on people’s liberties on a daily basis. Just like in the UK there are the front page stories of nurses/doctors on the frontline wailing the health service is about to collapse when the figures show today there are 366 COVID cases in hospital and 44 in ICU (according to The Age newspaper stats there are 3378 ICU beds in total) hardly the Apocalypse that we’re being told is occurring. Their own figures show there have only been 2 deaths of under-50s and we’ve just hit 200 deaths in total since the beginning of this.
Lockdown 2.0 was quickly imposed, a few postcode areas first then all of metropolitan Melbourne. A concern to anyone who values their liberty had to be the total lockdown of a number of housing commission apartment blocks with zero notice. By the time the Dear Leader had finished his announcement on TV that no one would be allowed to leave these tower blocks there were already hundreds of police surrounding them forcibly stopping anyone from leaving. Considering in ‘normal’ times they can’t rustle up two cops to attend burglaries, night-time home invasions or muggings etc. they were able to find 500 of them to police this hard lockdown with no trouble at all.
Of course the lockdown has had little effect so next was mandatory face nappies for all when you’re outside your house with $200 fines gleefully being handed out by the Vicstapo. Before that has even had any chance to have an effect Prof Sutton and Comrade Andrews are informing us that ‘Stage 4’ Lockdown will have to be implemented or the world will end. Still no concrete details but from leaks in the news sites it will be like NZ, everything barring supermarkets and essential services closed, no travel more than 5km from home, one occupant from a house allowed to go shopping and a huge increase in police patrols using numberplate recognition cameras to catch and fine anyone not complying with this madness.
I’ve given up trying to have an adult discussion with anyone here. I know of only two people who are lockdown sceptics like me. Every single other person you speak to is a complete COVID Lockdown fanatic who will not contemplate any other view. It’s quite unsettling. Aussies love to make out they are this rough, tough, she’ll be right, bunch of rebels when in reality they are a nation of supine, compliant rule followers who love nothing more than ‘dobbing in’ someone else for not following the most petty of rules and regulations. They are such a nation of bedwetters someone has actually started manufacturing home wares with portraits of the Victorian Chief Health Officer, Health Minister and State Premier – bizarre and creepy!!
The media have stepped up the campaign of intolerance towards any dissenters, labelling anyone who dares to question lockdowns or face nappies as COVID deniers, COVIDiots, anti-maskers, Karens etc. etc. The tone they use to anyone not conforming is quite threatening and they are doing everything they can to stoke up the intolerance amongst the general populus too. The Police have ramped up their intimidation as well. There was a small anti mask demo at the Shrine of Remembrance here in Melbourne with two people arrested by a dozen or so cops, some on horseback with photographers in attendance to record the arrest and forcible muzzling of a dangerous dissenter.
It was so obviously staged to put on a show of force that would terrify people into complying with the face nappy edict, but my Melbourne friends all thought it was brilliant and the Police should be even more strict if possible. Then tonight the good old boys in blue have heroically managed to stop a meeting of conspiracy theory anti-maskers by setting up road blocks and when one woman refused to speak to them they smashed her car window to arrest her (second time this has happened now) . I just can’t believe people that I thought were intelligent and aware of what goes on around them are completely unconcerned about this slide into heavy handed Police enforcement and actually want more of it.
Where the madness ends who knows?! The economy here is already on its last legs. Uber-lockdown Ver 3.0 should just about finish it off I would imagine. I stand to have a career flushed down the toilet just as I hit 30 years in my profession and even if escape from Prison Island was possible where could you go that is bedwetter free??
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