Football is unbelievable

and I really cannot believe it is so important.

There is a serious Covid19 outbreak in the neighbouring state. It is highly likely we have some undetected cases here. Despite that the powers that be are allowing footballers to come and play a match here.

Please! Football is supposed to be a game! It isn't worth risking the lives of other people for this.

There has been some heavy criticism of the Federal government over the way the vaccination and quarantine arrangements have been made. A lot of this has been quite unfair and shows an alarming lack of understanding of the way in which government works in this country. 

It is not as simple as saying something like "quarantine is a federal responsibility". Yes, it is - but health is a state responsibility. Federal and state governments need to work together on this issue.  When state and federal governments are on the opposite sides of the political fence then things don't always happen the way they should. In this state almost everyone in aged care who wanted to be vaccinated has been given their first jab. Some have had their second. Every effort is being made to reach people in remote communities. The Royal Flying Doctor Service is being used where necessary. 

It is not a simple matter of simply lining people up and walking along and jabbing each arm. Precautions have to be taken. Records have to be kept. People need to be able to get to a vaccination site. Even the RFDS can only get so far. If you live on the island we once lived on you might have to travel quite a long distance and do it at a time when the vaccination facility is available. And yes, you do need to be vaccinated if you want the tourists, on whom your economic surival depends, to come back. 

Why then would you risk everything for a football match which does not matter in the least? Why are people criticising governments for not doing enough when they are behaving in ways that are making serious difficulties for governments to handle the situation?

We all want life to get back to "normal" or, as Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa famously put it, "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."