I’ve been thinking about this song a lot lately. Originally written by Bruce Woodley of the Seekers and Dobe Newton, it really has a new significance right now. It’s most recent outing was at the Fire Fight Australia concert in February – here is Delta Goodrem’s version of a song that always stir emotions of national pride.
It’s been around for a while now that it could be the National Anthem one day, but that’s a thought for another day!
Here we are on the 20th Anniversary of the opening ceremony of one of the proudest moments in Australia’s recent history – the 2000 Sydney Olympics, an event that united the country and showcased us to the world. I watched the opening ceremony whilst on holiday at the Gold Coast and was lucky enough to attend some events in person during the second week. The highlight for me (apart from the ‘high’ of attending a truly global event) was watching the chain-smoking Aussie Jai Taurima almost take out the long jump Gold Medal, eventually winning Silver.
Its hard to imagine a time where we can get back to being one country again – to travel freely across borders and see all there is to see across this great southern land. 6 Months ago, it was almost unthinkable that you couldn’t travel from Coolangatta to Tweed Heads for the day. We did this a couple of times last summer, staying on the Gold Coast and taking day trips to Brunswick Heads and the beautiful Pottsville, NSW.
There’s a lot of desperate and worried people at the moment, a lot of people in need, which is certainly leading to some feelings of keeping borders closed, staying at home or anything else people need to do to keep this virus under control. You have got to feel for the families and friends who are spread across states (and of course countries), unable to see each other and many of them have no-one to connect with. A Zoom call just doesn’t cut it!
The state borders are currently being used to protect COVID cases moving between states, however the virus doesn’t recognize state borders, rather it seems to act in clusters which have no political affiliation. What we seem to be lacking at the moment is a nationwide approach to fighting COVID-19 and without this we may be lacking a vision of the long game. It has become apparent that state borders are completely under state control. Did anyone else even know that a premier of a state could even close state borders?
I think its vitally important that we are collectively wanting the best for Australia, not just our own state and to have a pragmatic and compassionate approach to open up the country as soon as practical. The latest announcement this week – to open up Queensland to the Australian Capital Territory (approximately 1,000km apart) seems an unusual decision to say the least.
It’s okay to want the best for your state and to implement temporary measures to combat this pandemic, but we don’t want to forget that we are Australian!
It’s never been like this before! Sure, we have bitter interstate rivalries with sporting events like the annual State of Origin series between Queensland and New South Wales bringing out the best (and worst) in passionate and one-eyed fans. But even that is ‘state versus state – mate versus mate’!
Both Queensland and New South Wales are in a comparatively good spot at the moment with new COVID case numbers in the single digits. But still the borders remain predominately closed. The big question for me is what are the triggers that will get the state leaders working in a unified direction?
My family is all located in Queensland, but I know many families who are spread across 2 or 3 states – many of these families have had a very tough 2020. What thoughts are there on how Australia, as a country will come out at the other end of this?
On face value, the divided approach is similar to the many different COVID-19 vaccines being developed around the world – around 150 are under development. But this is a global issue – so where is the global approach and the pooling of resources to fight this pandemic? It’s a rare opportunity for us to show just how humanity can work together.
We have been exploring Queensland lately and discovering some amazing local experiences. But as all Australians love to travel, we should be looking at a coordinated approach to open up the country as soon as possible to get everything going again.
My hope is that Australia emerges at the other end of the pandemic a stronger nation and that we can, once again look forward to hosting nationwide and global events as only Aussies can!
