Australia part of the "Third World"

 

Many Australians now feel they are living in a third world country following a spate of natural disasters – fires, flood and winds which have demonstrated the inability of our politicians and bureaucrats to meet basic emergency requirements. Part of the problem is the illusion that this is one country, In reality it is a group of seven states and territories, cobbled together in a Federation which ensures that they compete with each other and impose a huge cost on citizens with the duplication of services. Health and education are the responsibilty ofeach state in addition to department officers and ministers at the Federal level. More than 5,000 calls for help were made to the Victoria State Emergency Service on Friday after wild storms lashed the state.24 hours later, at least 200,000 homes remained without power. Residents in Victoria are amongst the most disillusioned as the latest failures follow the mismanagement of the Covid19 virus outbreak, earlier storm damage, which left many without power for weeks, and devastating bushfires. Premier, Daniel Andrews is pushing new laws to give himself the power to declare a pandenic and impose regulations The State Government had just announced a relaxation of its draconian lockdown rules designed to allow residents to travel to regional areas – but the new storm damage left many of the regional centres without power which meant that restaurants and shops were unable to welcome customers. OK! Governments may not be responsible for natural disasters, but they are responsible for designing infrastructure which is suitable for purpose. If electricity cables were underground they would not be damaged by wind or fire, If responses to emergency situations were planned, there would be no need for ad hoc decisions as situations develop. As a result of the rollout of the National Broadband Network across the country, every time the power grid fails. Residents are left without any means of communication. The old phone lines have been ripped up and VOIP phones installed which only work when power and the internet are connected. Even when fully charged, mobile phones only operate when power is available to the network of towers.