More than 75% of Australian Muslims live in either Sydney or Melbourne.

While the pandemic has brought about many deaths in those communities, and while both cities have been subjected to lockdowns and some curfews, their struggles have brought out some unpleasant features of our nation, our media and our leadership which require our attention.

Lethal Division

We have witnessed the lethal impact of the politicisation of the pandemic in the USA, where one’s loyalty to the Republican cause and Trump have become associated with the anti-vaxxer movement, QAnon and a high death rate.

A year ago Crikey noted: “This past weekend, the front page of The Sunday Telegraph read “FOR YOUR OWN GOOD” on the Sydney lockdown.

Contrast that with the Herald Sun’s front page on Melbourne’s July lockdown:

“SIX-WEEK SENTENCE” (complete with its “Disaster for Dan” subhead).

There’s also virtual media silence over the isolation rule-breakers on Sydney’s wealthy northern beaches. “ [21 December 2020 Christopher Warren Crikey]

“Increasingly, this pandemic is dividing our nation: vaxxers and anti-vaxxers; those who have kept their jobs and those who haven’t; students learning remotely and students able to go to school; those isolated from families and those who remain in their embrace.” [27 July 2021 Madonna King Crikey]

The discriminatory lockdown in NSW was apparently heavily political.

An email sent in August from Kerry Chant to the Health Minister Brad Hazzard recommended that lockdown measures should be implemented across greater metropolitan Sydney with outdoor masks, a consistent 5km rule and only authorised workers able to leave home.

Instead the stringent lockdown and curfew of 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Western and south-west was maintained. [23 November 2021 ABC News]

The Era of Vaccinations and Virus Controls

NSW Premier Perrottet told his people to take personal responsibility to avoid infection as most restrictions in NSW were lifted.

His Health Minister suggested by the end of January 25,000 people a day would be infected.[18 December 2021 Independent Australia]

This hands off approach, mirrored by PM Morrison, was lambasted by Quentin Dempster, a Walkley Award journalist, on Twitter on 23 December 2021 “Our PM @ScottMorrisonMP won’t mandate masks because it’s “individual responsibility”. It’s now apparent this response is politically calculated to hold LNP’s anti-vax anti-government base, now being incited by Clive’s UAP billboards & ad blitz. Thus are we governed. UAP = LNP.”

The rising tide of omicron infections has resulted in a changed response, with Perrottet suddenly reintroducing indoor mask mandates, QR coding at venues and advocating a shorter time being permitted for booster vaccines.

This was no doubt prodded by the recent modelling from the Doherty Institute, warning case numbers could be hitting 200,000 a day by late January or early February if there were few restrictions. [22 December 2021 SBS News]

Already health workers in NSW are losing members to isolation and many other parts of the workforce are being depleted by close contact with infection.

There will not be a functioning economy if people are afraid to leave their homes as infections skyrocket.

In Victoria mask mandates have been strengthened, the necessary Pandemic Management Bill passed and the carping of the politicised media has been ignored.

The upsurge of extremism in Melbourne, accompanied by gallows and death threats brought out a lot of militancy from the anti-vaxxer QAnon crowd to an extent not seen in Sydney.

Of concern was the appearance and endorsement of the nasty demonstrations outside parliament by the Liberal opposition. [18 November 2021 Independent Australia]

In fact the Victorian legislation gave power to the elected representatives, instead of the Chief Health Officer.

“The controversial laws, which the state opposition and various interest groups argued would lead to more lockdowns, were used to implement a set of restrictions less onerous than those that the state’s public health team had pushed for.” [24 December 2021 Age]

Booster Shots

According to the Australian Medical Association the booster program was not proceeding as expected.

This was because the Morrison government had cut the funding to GPs delivering the vaccine so that the number administered was rapidly falling. [21 December 2021 Crikey]

National cabinet restored this funding on 22 December, to the relief of the AMA and Australians seeking the booster.

This reversal was followed by federal Health Minister Hunt’s red face over his attack on the ALP leader for advocating a shorter time between second vaccination and booster.

One day after he said such a call made Albanese unfit to be Prime Minister he had to announce that booster shots wait time will be reduced from five to four months from January 4 and then down to three months from the end of January. [24 December 2021 Sky News]

Politicisation of the pandemic, of virus control measures, of vaccinations and boosters in an apparent effort to appeal to various loud fringe groups and minor well funded parties, may offer short term electoral benefits but bring into question the judgement of those using these methods.

The author is a prominent Australian Muslim scholar and activist.