McNamee Opines on a Weighty Matter, page-9

I've read this a couple of times and still trying to find where Brian makes a single concrete suggestion on what to change about this second lockdown.

He indicates that he broadly supported the first lockdown so now the Chairman of CSL has strayed into the area of finessing lockdown policy it begs the question as to exactly what elements of this lockdown he would modify. So in that respect he's far too ambiguous.

Unfortunately if the Chairman of CSL is going to use his position to criticise I would have thought he really should be obliged to make some concrete forward suggestions on public policy. A reporter worth his salt would have ensured that such topics were explored.

While the root cause of the Victorian cases is undoubtedly quarantine and the early spread related to some failures and delays around contact tracing I believe the subsequent inability to bring numbers under control is very much down to attitude.

Unlike the first lockdown there is now a hard core minority in this city (as much as 20% with another 20% cheering them on) who are simply reckless. I am personally aware of multiple cases where individuals have been suitably protected at work but have then contracted the virus and spread it to their colleagues outside of the work setting. This recklessness is demonstrated by the number of confirmed positive cases leaving isolation after testing positive.

The mindset of this minority is largely due to the major press in this city actively pushing the "it's not fair" message this time around. Simple public health messages have been undermined at every opportunity in both the Murdoch and Nine press without ever offering a single concrete suggestion for what measures could or should be changed.

Without concrete suggestions being offered its hard for me to see how the vast majority of this messaging is not simply a reflection of both publishers conservative control (The publisher of The Age is now controlled by ex-LNP staffers while Murdoch ensures the messaging in the Herald-Sun, Australian and Sky is unremittingly right wing).

It's hard to know whether parts of the interview were omitted but I can't see how this contribution assists in any way. Not Brian's finest moment.