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My last piece in this newsletter was about how the federal government really has one job and that's to roll out the vaccines.
Well, we are still waiting...
The Prime Minister flew his jet to a religious function at taxpayers' expense this week and said what we need is "church".
Well, what we need is science.
What the Prime Minister and the federal government should really be focussed on right now is the pandemic and other real threats to our way of life from the changing climate.
This is the same Prime Minister came to Kangaroo Island in the days after the bushfire disaster of January 2020 and said "luckily there has been no loss of life".
When in fact two Islanders were killed when their vehicle and water trailer was overtaken by flames after helping to fight the fires.
Australia is in danger - the laughing stock of the world at the Leaders Summit of Climate in the USA today (Thursday, April 22), when we as nation fail to live up to our international obligations.
It is not just the coffee-sipping intellectuals in the cities that can see the future is at stake.
It's people who rely on the land to make a living who are also realising the government is not doing enough to address climate change.
We need to aggressively transition to renewables and embrace all the benefits of moving to new technologies.
Kangaroo Island has already been the victim of climate change, having half the Island wiped out by bushfires.
Back to the vaccines.
On Kangaroo Island, we watched with interest as the South Australian government announced last week that the Island will get one of three planned regional COVID vaccine centres, due to open by June.
It is unclear where the centre will be, who will staff it and whether it will be a dedicated Pfizer facility, like the three metro sites.
Meanwhile a new pop-up clinic in Port Lincoln opened this week offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to seniors.
We in regional Australia rely on the government to have good relations with China and now the government has thrown out diplomacy along with science.
Kangaroo Island still rides on the sheep's back and a drop in wool and other commodity prices will have a direct impact on farmers.
The verdict is out as to which of these jobs the government and Prime Minister is failing most miserably at.
In case you are interested in filtering all the latest down to just one late afternoon read, why not sign up for The Informer newsletter?
More stuff happening around Australia ...
- Vic Belt and Road deal with China torn up
- 'Gobsmacked': Anger over disability care vaccine rollout
- Here's why we needed yet another royal commission
- 'Illicit drugs' and mental health treatment: all we are asking for is hope
- NSW water plan withdrawals highlight transparency woes
- Thermal spotter reveals mice reality
- Real life Old People's Home for Four Year Olds gets underway
- Memories of Mad Max stuntman's life on the edge swept away in floods
Stan Gorton
Walkley-nominated journalist based at The Islander on Kangaroo Island with an interest in the local community and the environment.
Walkley-nominated journalist based at The Islander on Kangaroo Island with an interest in the local community and the environment.
