Authoritarian Oz?

‘Some countries are using the pandemic to undermine liberal democracy to promote their own more authoritarian models … Now, quite ironically, it turns out that Canberra plans to send its military personnel to help enforce social lockdown.’

This was Lu Xue in an article in Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, criticising Australia’s pandemic management.

A year ago, Australia (and New Zealand) was the envy of the world. Almost-zero Covid and an economy that had recovered rapidly to pre-pandemic heights. Now China mocks, and much of the rest of the world looks on in bemusement and horror, as Australia struggles to come to terms with the Delta variant. An unvaccinated, unmasked limo driver caught the virus driving from Sydney airport and now there are thousands of cases in Sydney; Melbourne, Canberra and even New Zealand are in lockdown. South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia have cut themselves off, not just from the rest of the world, but also from most of their fellow Australians. Families are split, the economy is losing billions and Australia has become the biggest, and nicest, prison in the world. It seems as though it is easier to get into North Korea than it is to get into Western Australia!