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OK, I'm declaring an emergency. An emergency emergency if you like. The third anniversary of the start of Black Summer fires is looming and disaster fatigue has set in.
Watching the coverage of those poor souls sandbagging and evacuating in Victoria, Tasmania and inland NSW, it seems we haven't caught a break since floods extinguished the fires in early 2020.
Rolling from fire into flood into pandemic and now into flood again, one wonders if normal is actually a thing or some idealised notion of the past.
Dan Andrews once again delivers updates at daily press conferences. He's ditched the North Face jacket and mask of the pandemic but the same grim presence is still there. Alongside him, the State Emergency Service, the police, ADF and Bureau of Meteorology.
In NSW, in an echo of the order for visitors to leave the South Coast during the fires, part of the Murray River was declared an emergency area under the SES Act and people were told to leave and not return. Forecast after forecast tells us more dreadful weather is on the way. Volunteers in NSW have been dealing with floods since February.
In Tasmania, the PM inspects flood damage and promises federal help. Mercifully, no goofing around with mops and photo opps like his predecessor on his visit to Lismore earlier this year.
We appear to be stuck on a treadmill of trauma with no end in sight. And if it's exhausting for those of us lucky enough to watching from afar, imagine what it's like for the people caught up in the middle of it. Many are not bracing for just one flood peak but several as La Nina throws rain event after rain event at the eastern states. No wonder the Victorian Premier has pledged extra money for mental health support to help his people get through the emergency.
I'd wager the terrible weather is also sapping the morale of the rest of us, even if we're not directly affected by flooding - in much the same way the Black Summer smoke did a couple of years ago.
It's not just the grey days. Already bruised by a steadily rising cost of living, we've been warned by the Treasurer to expect more hip-pocket pain as the price of food spikes because of the floods.
Even the lawns seem malevolent these days. On those rare occasions you get a mower over them without getting it bogged, they're growing again before you've even finished. "Think you have me under control, sucker? No, you don't," they seem to whisper.
For the past couple of years, festivals and country shows were cancelled because of COVID. Now they're being cancelled because of the rain. And if they're not cancelled, getting to them is problematic because the roads have all but dissolved.
As tough as it is, though, Australia's plight is insignificant compared to other less fortunate countries.
Floods in Pakistan wiped out 1,618,742 hectares of farmland earlier this year. New crops are yet to be planted because so much of the country is still under water. The nation now faces years of food insecurity. Nigeria has seen an estimated 200,000 homes damaged or destroyed and 1.4 million people displaced by floods in recent weeks.
Is this the new normal? Let's hope not.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Does it feel like we're in a constant cycle of crises? What's your antidote for bad news? Is there anything such as normal? Are you starting to resent your lawn? Is there a silver lining to all this cloud? Anything? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- One Nation leader Pauline Hanson will have to pay $250,000 in damages after defaming former senator Brian Burston despite a judge finding he sexually harassed female staff. In the Federal Court on Wednesday, Justice Robert Bromwich said comments made by Ms Hanson on Nine's Today Show in March 2019 were "seriously damaging" to Mr Burston's reputation.
- The defence department is investigating whether Australian pilots have been lured by large pay cheques to train Chinese military personnel. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is calling on the Albanese government to introduce laws that would ban current and retired Australian troops from passing on sensitive information. Defence Minister Richard Marles has ordered his department to probe the possibility of Australian personnel working in China, following reports of British personnel being involved in training.
- Julian Assange's lawyer warns the WikiLeaks founder will die behind bars unless an urgent political fix is secured. Held in the UK's high-security Belmarsh prison for more than three years, the Australian journalist is battling an array of health conditions including a mini stroke, severe depression and suicidal ideations, while he recently caught COVID-19. He's waiting on a UK High Court appeal against his extradition to the US, where he faces espionage charges. Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson said his health couldn't survive the drawn-out legal process needed to secure his release.
THEY SAID IT: "If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break." - Levee Breaks, Led Zeppelin
YOU SAID IT: The Bureau of Meteorology vs the BOM and the social media pile-on.
David says we were better off before social media intruded on our lives: "We had to almost immediately take personal responsibility for the impacts of our words and actions. I make mistakes and I regret that but it is so much easier to deal with these face-to-face rather than it is online. I get the feeling that a lot of people are just aching to get offended about something. Live and let live - no one is perfect."
He says dodgy algorithms have encouraged him off platforms. "Facebook sent me fake news about everything from Trump's election loss to Covid cures and hoaxes. I now only use Facebook for promoting the charities for whom I volunteer. This morning, LinkedIn delivered something to me from a US person in a related field of endeavour who linked with me yesterday. They now wanted to know 'how the new electronic tracking system for all citizens is affecting you and others throughout Australia? What happened to democracy down under?'"
Ian asks: "Without social media, how could I tell the world about the echidna that waddles around the reserve in front of my house after rain?"
"The BoM," says Matt, "is not just asking to be referred to by its 'proper name': it's trying to claim ownership of the word 'bureau'. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), among others, might have something to say about that, as David Pope so brilliantly pointed out in his Canberra Times cartoon on Wednesday."
Another David says, "We are social beings who need to communicate with each other but social media is not communication. However, in simulating communication, it stops us from really talking to each other. It's like a hungry person grabbing at pictures of apples, distracting them from looking for a real solution to their hunger. Instead of going on social media, meet a friend and have a face-to-face talk. You'll feel much better."