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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
Coronavirus
- Thread starter Tigers of Old
- Start date
There are plenty of non-essential activities being carried out. Groups of riders streaming down Beach Rd/Nepean Hwy. People buying gardening products to keep them busy on weekends. Are they "essential". There are practical rules being applied where golf is allowed - groups of 2 only, no pairs in carts, no falgsticks, no bunker rakes...it's one sport you can play by yourself or in a group and easily practice social distancing.
Golf is both a leisure acticity and physical exeercise, the health benefits are enormous (despite some short-term stress issues).
Yet to read or hear a logical argument for it being shut down.
And Stephen is? Oh that's right economic advisor to Julia Gillard...…..wonder if the "carbon tax" was his idea?Journalist Stephen Koukoulas doesn't think the government is doing a great job:
When governments get economic policy wrong, Australians suffer
Let's imagine if the stimulus measures were bigger and better targeted, writes independent economist Stephen Koukoulas.au.finance.yahoo.com
A couple of key paragraphs:
"The policy stimulus to date leave the Australian economy no better off than similar industrialised countries which are all poised to register recessions of a similar magnitude to Australia.
There is nothing special or pathbreaking about the Australian policy approach on the economy compared with many other countries even though the policies announced to date are helpful."
Maybe they're concerned about the percentage of older players and queing to pay green fees etc. I agree that it's one of the safer pastimes in the current circumstances, once you're out on the course it's all open spaces.
Much easier to put a blanket ban on everything than get trapped in debate about the peculiarities of each.
I hadn't left the house for a fortnight and went to Sunshine yesterday to pick up some hard drives that nobody else had. Spent 40 minutes queuing in the car park trying to stick to the the socially-distanced red lines.
Things that keep the economy ticking are exempt. Certainly the builders across the road will be banging and crashing at 7am tomorrow, again.
Journalist Stephen Koukoulas doesn't think the government is doing a great job:
When governments get economic policy wrong, Australians suffer
Let's imagine if the stimulus measures were bigger and better targeted, writes independent economist Stephen Koukoulas.
A couple of key paragraphs:
"The policy stimulus to date leave the Australian economy no better off than similar industrialised countries which are all poised to register recessions of a similar magnitude to Australia.
There is nothing special or pathbreaking about the Australian policy approach on the economy compared with many other countries even though the policies announced to date are helpful."
Economists views are like an a@sehole, they all have one. Most economists get their predictions WRONG. There's only one way to find out and that will be in hindsight after the event. Every single country will experience a recession, it's a technical term. It in efffect means a decline in GDP, nothing surprising there. It's how quickly the economy recovers that will determine ultimate success. I don't expect it to happen quickly and that's largely due to the massive economical downfall all over the world, not just here in Australia. There's no blueprint, there's no complete right and wrong way of handling this. We are going to suffer as a whole and that's because of the virus. The virus is the major contributing reason for the predicament we are facing, not the governments decisions.
Goes for too long. That's the whole premise of the lockdown, do your exercise and go home. Make exceptions, where do you stop? No absolute right or wrong, just judgement calls. PS I wouldn't mind being able to play golf right now.
I mean everything sport/leisure/exercise.
People shooting hoops at the local basketball court
Riders in peletons
Tell me the difference netween those non-essential activities and golf. Or fishing.
Agree.
After teeing off I don't see my partner/s until I've criss crossed my way to the green
Just watching the news, Trump was claiming that the health response in the USA was the best in the world. Really? More like the worst. Higher rates of infection, higher death rates, higher positive tests as a percentage of all tests . . . the list of failures goes on. Trump lies through his teeth. If they vote this moron back in they get what they get.
Just on some of the posts above. I used to play golf (tendonitis prevents it these days, RSI sucks!), yes you can socially distance while playing but the age profile of golfers and the congregating near the shop (you need to get a drink or the like) is problematic. I see it as similar to the beach, yes we could have safe distancing at the beach, the problem is that you let some people on the beach or golf course then you will end up with too many. It is a pity but controlling numbers and distancing is very problematic.
I can understand the complaints about cycling (yes, I am a cyclist, ride to work every day, just not much riding at the moment) and I would have to ask if any of the commenters above have been anywhere near Beach Rd of late? I have, I have ridden along Beach Rd a few times - no peletons. Individual riders and a few couples, no groups. There are a lot on the bike path along the beach, larger groups which look like family groups and some problems with social distancing, there needs to be more care on bike paths at the moment as there are clearly a lot of people cycling who don't cycle often. Lots of us who do cycle often are riding alone and riding on the roads because they are less crowded and don't want to add to the numbers on the paths.
DS
Just on some of the posts above. I used to play golf (tendonitis prevents it these days, RSI sucks!), yes you can socially distance while playing but the age profile of golfers and the congregating near the shop (you need to get a drink or the like) is problematic. I see it as similar to the beach, yes we could have safe distancing at the beach, the problem is that you let some people on the beach or golf course then you will end up with too many. It is a pity but controlling numbers and distancing is very problematic.
I can understand the complaints about cycling (yes, I am a cyclist, ride to work every day, just not much riding at the moment) and I would have to ask if any of the commenters above have been anywhere near Beach Rd of late? I have, I have ridden along Beach Rd a few times - no peletons. Individual riders and a few couples, no groups. There are a lot on the bike path along the beach, larger groups which look like family groups and some problems with social distancing, there needs to be more care on bike paths at the moment as there are clearly a lot of people cycling who don't cycle often. Lots of us who do cycle often are riding alone and riding on the roads because they are less crowded and don't want to add to the numbers on the paths.
DS
To be fair to Trump from what I'd heard recently, he's moved away from saying they are the best in the world, and moved to, better than "some" of those European countries. Great way to measure your performance, "well we aren't as bad as these other guys".
I think this might be the site that LTRTR uses, but it gives more information and allows you to sort the data tables effectively to see the best and worst at cases / 1m people, tests / 1m people etc. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
The US ranks better than many of the hardest hit European countries, but whilst I'd think most of those have hit their peak, I'm not sure the US is there yet so hard to review when outbreaks are after a different stage.
He should up the testing now. We're ahead of only WA and Tasmania for % of population tested, and Tassie's about to pass us.
