Jenna Clarke: our leaders need to stop sending mixed messages about our safety and start being clear and consistent

We’ve been called “jerks” and “bloody idiots” by the Premier and are being told to “stop hoarding” by the Prime Minister, yet cops are now patrolling the toilet paper aisles as we continue to punch on in the supermarket and one in five children has been pulled out of school as COVID-19 sweeps through the community. But what we really are is tired, scared and confused. We are living in unprecedented times but what we need more than toilet paper and freeze-dried food is crystal clear communication. Australians hate the government and politicians sticking their noses into our lives too much, but one thing we are good at is listening to authority and respecting it. Nearly every conversation I’ve had with people over the past week about travel plans, shopping habits and school attendance has ended in the same way: “I’ll continue to go about my business until the Government tells me not to”. But we are also used to paying attention to our smartest citizens like doctors (when they tell us it’s cancer we generally believe them) and now a large proportion of the medical fraternity, including the Australian Medical Association in WA, have been screaming for more than a week to close the borders, close the schools and shut us indoors so we can minimise the harm to our health. So why is the left-hand (the Government) not talking to the right one (our doctors)? Sure our hip pockets and the national accounts are going to take a hit if we were to shut up shop in the hope of minimising community spread but judging from the impact in other countries like Italy where the army has been called in to remove the dead, coronavirus has the propensity to wipe out even those who are young and healthy enough to help fire up the economy again when this thing passes. In WA we’ve now got 120 cases which have infected people ranging in ages from their early 20s to late 70s. Due to these conflicting opinions of doctors and policy makers all playing out while the AFL and NRL played on, the COVID-19 response has been as clumsy and as confounding as Carrie and Mr Big’s relationship in Sex and the City. Two pop cultural characters who were terrible in articulating their thoughts clearly and succinctly. Aussies are the Carrie while the Government’s response to this horrible virus which we’re now, according to Premier Mark McGowan, at “war” with, is akin to something Mr Big would do. Over the weekend WA’s chief health officer Dr Andrew Robertson was telling us “go to the pub” while the Premier was shutting down the borders and prepping Rottnest to be a quarantine zone — an island crawling with visitors just trying to find some normality in this brave new world. Rice and pasta are in short supply but we’ve had a surplus of mixed messages. Maybe yesterday we saw the tide finally turn. As insolent Sydneysiders flocked to Bondi Beach and flouted the National Cabinet’s recommendations of staying 2m apart, Mr McGowan was quick to say if scenes like that happen on our (far superior) beaches, he’ll shut them down quicker than high-rise plans are quashed in Cottesloe. One admirable trait of our local leader and his deputy, Health Minister Roger Cook, is that both gentlemen continue to showcase an admirable and consistent sense of humility during these trying times. Forgive me for making bold assumptions, but I think it is fair to say everyone’s anxiety levels could best be described as “Christmas Eve before catering for a lunch of 235 people” right about now. Our adrenals are zapping quicker than our iPhones, which we’re all glued to 24/7 just trying to keep up with this story that is changing by the hour. McGowan, who is looking to be re-elected next March, is toeing the line of the National Cabinet and unlike his Tasmanian and New South Wales counterparts has not broken ranks yet. A clever call because when campaigning starts in earnest and questions are asked about his response to this crisis, he’ll direct all queries to ScoMo. But unlike the Feds, McGowan and Cook are making big calls with more agility. The Prime Minister is using his marketing experience and has tested out some messaging about closing schools and calling off the footy, but his backstop has always been that all plans are “scalable”. His corporate approach is in stark contrast to New Zealand’s. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is quickly becoming renowned for her governing style. As she did in the face of the Christchurch massacre, she made swift, simple, strong calls in the face of COVID-19 infecting her country. And it’s worth noting she closed the borders days before Morrison copied her homework. Here’s hoping our leaders follow more of her lead, listen to the doctors on the front line and crack down on coronavirus hard and fast. Let’s hope the Government continues to make the big, clear calls which will allow us to focus on keeping calm. Takeaways only and no more clubbing are a good start but expect another week of craziness and more changes to life as we know it.