But having that capacity is quite different from trying to give the impression of moving at a frantic pace all the time. That can create unrealistic expectations, and rather than reassuring members of the public, it can unsettle them.

Governments should control the tempo of politics when they can, and resist being addicted to trying to move at an unrealistic pace all the time.

The idea of controlling the tempo is very much in fashion in many sporting codes. Followers of football know what I mean. Players need to know when to attack and when to move the ball quickly. But they also need to know when to settle, when to dig in, even if it means going on the defensive.

The pandemic is a case in point. During the most dangerous periods of the spread of the virus last year, the federal government did well, moving at a frantic pace on both the health and economic fronts. Politics was definitely "up tempo". The government ventured into the unknown as it placed Australia on a war footing to put necessary measures in place. Mistakes in both health and economic policy were made, but generally the public has given the government credit for a job well done.

Speed is still of the essence in dealing with COVID hotspots and quarantine breaches. Quick reactions are expected. Fingers crossed, despite new and threatening strains of the virus emerging, community transmission seems to be under control across the country. Generally, Australians are more relaxed than they have been since the pandemic first broke.

On the economic front, there is anxiety at the imminent termination of government support programs, but the economy seems to be recovering more quickly than many imagined it would. The flooding is an unwelcome interruption to the return of life as normal.

2021 will likely be remembered as the year of the vaccine rollout. It is still early days, and there have been small hiccups. The federal government has set an ambitious target of a complete rollout by October. In doing so, and then continually talking up how well the nation is on track to meeting its self-imposed deadline, the government has fallen into the trap of maintaining a frantic tempo when circumstances do not demand it.

Circumstances now demand a more measured pace. The government needs to demonstrate a sure pair of hands, rather than manufacture a sense of urgency. Australia is in the fortunate position that absolute urgency is not required. However, the government, neglecting the many imponderables, seems to be locked into a breakneck-speed timetable, putting undue pressure on everyone involved.

The imponderables include supply issues with both international and local vaccine production, transport and distribution issues across our large country and implementation issues at GP clinics and pharmacies.

The time pressure appears to be not driven from the bottom up, but imposed from the top down. There are many people propelled by an urgent desire to receive the vaccine as soon as possible. But my impression is that the majority are not so driven. The bulk of the community is quite happy to wait their turn as the months go by. They are confident that as a nation we will get the job done professionally. Some of the anxiety which does exist has not been soothed, but stoked from the top.

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Professional associations, like the Australian Medical Association, and state and territory health experts are taking a calmer approach. Between them they are controlling the tempo and providing a lesson to their federal government colleagues.

The addiction to up-tempo politics comes naturally to the federal government. In some ways it is built into all modern politics. Parliamentary politics tends to thrive on big promises and short-term delivery rather than the longer term. When political leaders attempt to slow the pace of their activities, they can be accused of coasting along and avoiding dealing with immediate priorities. The Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, faced such criticism when he attempted to delay policies until closer to the next federal election.

The Morrison government may know exactly what it is doing. Maybe it knows its timetable is overambitious; but feels an overriding need to reassure the general public that it is on the ball and to energise all participants in the COVID-19 vaccination process to act with a heightened sense of urgency.

Maybe it also prefers media attention to be focused on the vaccine rollout as a distraction from the many other problems dogging the government. Perhaps the government thinks it has a good news story, and it is sticking to it.

Be that as it may, the case for moderating the tempo is a powerful one. People are not foolish, and understand the complexity of the rollout. They would rather a realistic timetable and some humility from government than racing headlong towards an early finish. The bulk of the community is patient. Those who are not, for whatever reason, should go to the head of an orderly queue.