Coronavirus - Australia
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@barbarian said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@mariner4life said in Coronavirus - Australia:
that's the hope. if they have got any money left, or any leave left.
It's going to be feast or famine for people in that regard. If they have kept their job and salary you'd think they will be cashed up with plenty of leave, but if they haven't then they won't be planning a holiday anytime soon.
I have refunds on a bunch of stuff coming in (concert tickets, Air BnB, some flights), I'm also saving on a few AB test match tickets in July and all the other costs associated with that trip (was going to take my cousin, Otago student niece, and old school mate) and a Malaysia trip, so I'd likely direct that into an internal holiday ... although if the NZ borders open to Aussie I'll likely head home for a bit too.
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@Siam said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@canefan anyone tried telling someone to back off yet?
I did it a couple of times today and the dumb look of disapproval from the transgressors made me more angry than the initial crowding!"Just fuck off a little bit...please " 😄
Not yet. There were lots of people out walking when we went out around 5pm. Had to stare at a few who were marginal but generally people were well behaved and even friendly. Most had a polite smile as we walked past
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@canefan was out walking the dog today, saw another guy walking his in the opposite direction, we moved off onto the grass ditch, he moved into the middle of the road, about 5m social distance there.
But we are semi-rural, so personal space is a bit bigger than full on townies
Every single car that drove past gave a wave too, which doesnt always happen
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The state's new social distancing laws, which ban gatherings of more than two people and prevent people from leaving the house without a "reasonable excuse", will be over by the end of June, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller told reporters this morning.
Mr Fuller said the laws would be in place for 90 days and he would not be seeking an extension to the sweeping new powers after that time.
How is it the police commissioner is deciding when these powers are in place to?
And recalling Orwell's observation in 1984 that 'no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it':
In comments provided for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Ms Gaudron said: "We have a national cabinet with no statutory or constitutional foundation, making decisions affecting us all now, and it seems, for many months and perhaps years into the future. In the present circumstances that body is fulfilling a vital national role. But the circumstances are not such as to require that its decisions are free of oversight, particularly as new and wide discretionary powers have been conferred on ministers of the Commonwealth."
The group of judges includes two former judges of the Victorian Court of Appeal, David Harper and Stephen Charles, a former judge of the NSW Court of Appeal, Anthony Whealy, and a former judge of the Queensland Court of Appeal, Margaret White.
The executive director of the Australia Institute, Ben Oquist, who convened the judges' group, said that Australia was already in a health crisis and an economic crisis "and we'd like to see if we can avoid a crisis of democracy as well".
At the same time, the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, former NSW director of public prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery, made a similar call on Wednesday: "Even the darkest days of the World Wars did not force parliament to close for extended periods."
He called on the federal and NSW parliaments to make use of their committee processes for "more democracy and accountability in these difficult months, not less".
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@antipodean Police here are overaching also. My wife got pulled over and interrogated while running alone and nowhere near anyone else. Asked for ID, address details, quite intimidating.
That footage of coppers in Rushcutters was pretty wild too.
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The same people that were wailing about the morons on Bondi Beach and clamouring for a lockdown (on social media, not here) are now up in arms about heavy-handed policing. What did they think a lockdown meant?
The fact is that as we speak our response to Corona has, more or less, been working. Only 112 new cases yesterday in NSW and now the curve is flattening. Everything could change tomorrow, of course, but at the moment we can focus on getting our medical staff the supplies they need without worrying about constructing temporary hospitals and morgues.
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@barbarian said in Coronavirus - Australia:
constructing temporary hospitals and morgues.
I think some people need to watch vids of forklift trucks being used to lift bodies tied up in plastic bags and shoved in the back of freezer trucks in NY. Might give some perspective
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@Machpants said in Coronavirus - Australia:
I think some people need to watch vids of forklift trucks being used to lift bodies tied up in plastic bags and shoved in the back of freezer trucks in NY. Might give some perspective
I don't think it will. We've been seeing that from Europe for two weeks now.
The fact is the people that are still out and about are the 20-30s who are very, very, very unlikely to suffer that fate. Many of them have lost their jobs and live in accommodation not well suited to staying at home for long periods. They are used to a high level of social activity and it's tough to cut that off completely.
A $1000 fine might be the only way to actually change behaviour.
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@barbarian I'm ok with police enforcing rules and even fines. What I'm not cool with is police who make up new rules (has happened in QT), or who enjoy the power trip (these number very few).
Did you not find that scene at Ruchcutters disturbing?
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@voodoo said in Coronavirus - Australia:
Did you not find that scene at Ruchcutters disturbing?
Disturbing but not surprising. Australia has this dichotomy of disrespecting authority while displaying a real underlying penchant for totalitarianism. Also I spent my first decade as an adult in Sydney, so a heavy handed police response isn't new.
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I counted 16 police in Darling Harbour today. Not all together but wandering in groups of 5, 4, 3, and 2.
But they weren't being heavy handed with anyone ... they ignored the smokers congregating together outside the Commbank offices. Which annoyed me as they're there constantly and make that area an unpleasant place to walk past. I was hoping they'd wade into them heavy handed, billy clubs swing, tazers at the ready.
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An article in the ABC that prompted a thought:
The Spanish military has been brought in to help disinfect areas, including nursing homes, as the disease spreads in one of Europe's worst-hit countries.
"The army, during certain visits, found some older people completely abandoned, sometimes even dead in their beds," Defence Minister Margarita Robles told broadcaster Telecinco, according to the BBC.
What's it like here? Because it's hardly an industry with a reputation for best practise. Well this isn't comforting:
Last month, the Prime Minister recommended aged care facilities restrict visits from family and friends to just 15 minutes per day to limit exposure to the coronavirus.
Within weeks, many of the big aged care chains like Bupa, Allity, Estia, Regis, Opal and Japara have instituted total lockdowns.
Adding to the turmoil in the already stretched sector, the government regulator is no longer inspecting homes, even if they have already failed basic standards.
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This JobKeeper thing is a fucking nightmare. Thanks for the wording of the announcement ScoMo
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@mariner4life Yep, I haven't heard from my employer yet re eligibility. I also have not been able to access centrelink online through MyGov for nearly two weeks. Even though they sent me a text saying log on and fill out details....