After 107 days, I am hoping that I never, ever, have to again make these daily posts ... And for those fools esp in media who platformed hysterics & uncredentialed 'experts', you have urged ruination on innocent people as surely as any crank anti-Vax
A reckoning for all of the cranks - from the Covid hysterics to the anti-Vax - needs to proceed, even as we celebrate slow return of life to 'Normal-ish'. Lessons must be learned, and, yes, cranks need to be ostracised.
As Australians, one good takeaway from the past 2 years - whatever else we disagree vehemently on - is finding there is a large number of people in the Centre Left & Right who support sensible public health measures & the urgent necessity of vaccinations. Leave freaks on fringes
At some point, though, I will also do a thread of praise (within reason ... do not get ahead of me) for everyone who has done their duty during this lockdown. Ignore the cranks. Praise what we need as Australians to see more of, now, and going forward. #Covid19NSW#SydneyLockdown
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
For those in NSW & VIC: both IBAC & ICAC are de facto inquisitions ala Roman Law. The commissioner & counsel assisting may go wherever the evidence leads. At the same time, people adversely reflected on (publicly!) may not have the same protections under common law. Caveat.
The ICAC problem in NSW is it is the closest body we have to a 4th branch - it is not a court & thus not part of the appellate hierarchy. It is part of the executive govt but not really responsive to any Minister. It is a body made necessary by NSW's endemic corruption problems.
The problem for anyone who lives in Sydney & New South Wales (and has grown up with our historic corruption problems) is that unless there is some public inquisitorial (in the Roman Law sense) body like ICAC threatening public officials, then NSW is back in the Askin & Wran years
Not sure how @billbowtell got himself into the partisan nastiness but the pandemic has been a test case on why the 'experts' predictions need to be treated with great caution. (via @evmulholland)
Watching our own Brad "Chad" Hazzard - the most local Northern Beaches guy, ever - describe Redfern as the 'crossroads of Australia' is why we are living in not just a Pandemic but a golden age for content. The greatest Health minister since Augustus. #Covid19NSW#SydneyLockdown
The salient fact of all New South Wales politics is that the Labor party never split. Labor kept its Right & that is why NSW Labor has been so dominant historically. A lot of wet liberals who could not get into Labor went into the Liberals (where they proved electoral death).
The upshot of all elections in NSW is the winner is whoever wins socially conservative / "not rich" voters, esp migrant voters, in the suburbs that surround Sydney from north to west. In short, You win the Telegraph demo, not the ABC/Herald. Winning the ABC=you are losing.
Chris Minns is the best recent Labor leader in NSW in recent times - very normal guy from the suburbs & ALP's Right who could win a lot of the voters that Gladys & Morrison won in 2019. Labor often goes to Right of Coalition on law & order cf if Speakman goes soft on crime.
The 'almost not Gladystan' statistics for New South Wales in the past 24hrs:
- 67.1% fully vaccinated
- 88.4% first dose
- 623 new local cases
- 76,000+ tests
NB: Gladys remains NSW Premier until there is a new Liberal leader (X). Gladys then goes to the Governor to resign and advises the Governor to send for new leader X to form a new ministry.
The testing results here are weirdly low - suggests that there are many (with no doubt legit reasons to be apprehensive about authorities) not coming forward to get tested.👇
Amazing that in the era of the 'Great British Bake Off' that Keir Starmer could not see the importance of keeping the Bakers (defined broadly) in the 'big tent', or, in the 'big kitchen', as it were.
"BFAWU emphasised that far from leaving the political scene, it intends to become more political and battle for £15 per hour for all workers, the abolition of zero hours contracts and an end to a lower minimum wage for young people."
Going to be busy diving into Keir Starmer alienating the Bakers union in the UK … what a time to be alive. Man does not live on bread alone etc but very hard to win a general election when the bakers union wants to mill you and slice you up, toast style