Have we only ourselves to blame for ‘The Bug?’
It is very hard to convince people to invest against the possibility of something that may happen at some time in the future. The cost of the investment is immediate and measurable, the benefit unknown, and perhaps some time in the future.
In a democracy it is very hard to get people to vote for something they cannot see and feel, immediately. We moan, and I am a chief moaner, about the lack of foresight and planning evident, that has enabled the bug to run riot through our economies, but do we only have ourselves to blame?
There are three types of actions that can be taken by any organisation, public or otherwise.
- Reactive. These are decisions and actions taken after an event.
- Responsive. Actions and decisions taken as events are unfolding
- Pre-emptive. Actions and decisions taken in anticipation of an event designed to mitigate the impact.
If we were to categorise the performance of our various governments over the past 12 months, I would say that in relation to the fires that started in September last year, they were reactive, and even that is being very kind. The floods, now almost forgotten in February, the response was again reactionary, and sadly lacking substance. In relation to the Corona bug, they seem to have done better and been responsive, taking decisive action as events unfolded, and being prepared to adjust the response as more data becomes available.
Coming out of this, I would like to see some sort of pre-emptive actions taken to mitigate the impacts of the next catastrophe, whether it be another bug, fire, flood, or financial meltdown. As a country we have to build our operational resilience, meaning the ability to invest so that the impacts do not drown us.
Do this, and we will be a much stronger nation. Alas, in a democracy this is really hard, as it requires a collective desire to invest now without any idea of the outcome or payback, and electorates are not good at this.
This difference neatly explains the quick and substantial reaction to the current Corona crisis, but our almost total of lack planning and investment to mitigate the impact of climate change.
The current idea of a location app on our phones is a great example of the dilemma we face.
It makes absolute sense that we are able to track the movements of people in the face of a highly infectious disease, to see with whom they interact, even by chance, so that we can throw a ring fence around the bug. Most would probably agree, but the downside is that we do not trust the politicians and ‘forces of evil’ to turn the thing off, and leave it off, when the crisis is over, thereby impinging on our rights to privacy.
In a democracy, like , this will probably mean a very good idea is thrown away. However, I bet that in a different system, it would be embraced, as public sentiment would not matter, and is kept private anyway as a means to stay out of the spotlight, which can be a dangerous place to be.
Header cartoon: courtesy David Rowe, AFR.
