Abstract

Tell the WHOLE truth, Mr Morrison

Article

Prime Minister Morrison has used standard publicity techniques in discussing re-opening business as soon as possible, which has always been his primary taget except when the degree of public health security made it impossible to pursue with priority.

The tecnnique is to say that there will certainly be further outbreaks of the virus due to the resumption of normal business, which is plainly true, and that the government will move quickly to quell them, which may be true except perhaps for the speed and degree of action to be taken.  He stopped there.  He omitted to add that of course there will be deaths to pay for this course.  When they occur, he will appear before the television cameras and say how sad it is for the dead and their loved ones, but he will certainly not say that it was inevitable and foreseeable but taken nonetheless.

The point is that the true picture should be put to the public, rather than a semi-honest half-truth. Then the public can decide the course which shouold be taken in the full knnowledge and understanding of ALL the consequences.

It would be interesting to hear what the Federal Chief Medical Officers, who seem to be very compliant towards the government's intentions have to say about these specific consequences.  After all, they did say that all would be well if the people did what the PM said as to lockdown, disingenuously omitting acknowledgement of the inevitability that there were many who woould not, as proved to be the case.  Of course, it was nont within their jurisdiction to enforce the shutdown, but equally it was wrong to paint such a rosy picture in support of the government's precautions when there was such a large hole in it which should have been acknowledged.  Resonable softening of the message is understandable, but the Chinese have not been given any understanding on that count.

This is not to deny that the case for opening business as soon as reasonably safely possible is very important and pressing, but it should not be taken by a government whose predilection is towards business, and who cloud their doing what they want to do by presenting an incomplete picture of what will happen to the people.

I acknowledge an interest in that the most vulnerable to death from the virus are the elderly, of which I am one.