I’d like our Aussie friend to comment on this. I’ve seen the videos and read stories about the Aussie government going full on bonkers.

Australia has a very different relationship to the State than the US does, and it’s because of our unique history. When Australia was colonised by the English, they had learned the lesson from the Revolutionary War, and treated the migrants to their new colony much more respectfully than they treated the Yankees.

If you wanted to move to Australia, a far away land in with a harsh environment (as all of my ancestors did in the 19th Century) you couldn’t do it and expect to survive, much less thrive, without the help of the colonial government.

My ancestor, a farmer from Denmark, Jens Jensen, was given a large land grant by the Queensland Colony in the 1870s. Another one of my ancestors, Rob Robson, was with John Batman when he made a treaty with the Aboriginal people, on the settlement which would later become Melbourne, but only with the aid of the colonial Victorian government. Early Australians were not taxed, but the government provided land for farmers and support for small businessmen.

Crucially, when one thinks of Australia, one has to remember that we were founded when Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill were writing in England. Their philosophy of utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number) informed the bureaucrats who set up the State in Australia. The State came before society ever existed here, and it was designed by people who had a decidedly progressive outlook for the times. Society was grafted on after the bureaucracy was already set up.

In contrast, John Locke and his purist philosophy and social contract theory informed the Founding Fathers of the United States. In the US, society came before the State. The State only operates with the permission of the people.

The other thing to remember about Australia is that while we don’t have a purist understanding of liberty, and we do not have any concept of social contract theory, Australia is one of the most egalitarian and democratic nations on Earth. Men were given full suffrage in the 1850s, women in the 1890s, and the colonists invented the secret ballot to prevent corruption – an innovation which was copied around the world. And because we have compulsory and preferential voting (reforms that were implemented in the 20C), and a permanent Electoral Commission which is non-partisan, neutral (and basically a sacrosanct institution in Australia) every time someone or some party wins an election it is by definition a legitimate and majoritarian win. We hold elections every 3 years, and leaders are regularly tossed out. We had 5 different Prime Ministers in 10 years between 2008 - 2018.

We also have low corruption. People don’t retire massively wealthy after being in politics in Australia. One of our former Premiers of NSW had to resign because he didn’t declare a bottle of wine given to him as a gift. The notion of a political family dynasty like the Clintons, the Bushes or the Newsoms is as bizarre and alien to us Australians as our lack of guns are to you Americans.

But most importantly, our democracy works. Each time in our history, after there has been some strife (e.g. worker strikes, miner strikes, riots) change has been achieved at the Ballot Box. After the Eureka Stockade, enfranchisement for miners was introduced. After the Victorian police suppressed union riots in the late 1800s, the world’s first Labour Party – The Australian Labor Party – formed, and won 35 seats at the next election.

I predict that some serious change will occur following the trauma of Victoria’s lockdowns and consequent police overreach. But it won’t de done via cynical propagandising influenced by American media tropes. It will come from citizens who organise and demand change at the legislative level and citizens who make their voices heard at the Ballot Box.

You’ve been watching CNN again haven’t you…..  

You picked Florida because???….  Oh yea….politics. You want to lay the ground work for lies about Florida in case their Governor decides to run for President next election. But it’s all about the science right….

As of this morning according to CDC data, California leads the way with 71,519 deaths despite having long running mask mandates etc..
Florida is quite a bit lower at 58,803.

And let’s just be honest and say those are actually people who died with Covid not necessarily from Covid. General Powell was 84 and in failing health and dealing multiple cancers but he died from Covid….
But I digress….

Australian has a population of 25 million which puts it between Texas and Florida but it’s as large as three fourths of the entire US.
Population density of Australian is 3.3 per square km.
Texas is 103 and Florida is 384.

It’s not really a useful comparison now is it?

Florida has not had 70,000 deaths. Australian officials have gone absolutely overboard. As the original article said I hope they all get voted out of office.  I’m hoping there’s enough Australians who aren’t  completely emasculated like what we have here with liberal men in the US. Bunch of pu$$ys.

Population density of Miami is about 13,000. You said Sydney was 433?
The average age of Florida citizens is over 42, it’s about 37 for Australia.
Now, why don’t you do some investigating and find out the average weight of a citizen of Florida versus the average weight to Citizen of Australia? Find out the overall average health of Florida citizens versus Australian citizens. I can guarantee Australians are healthier than your average Floridian.

So maybe just stop talking about Florida and Australian because it’s obvious if it requires anything more than a soundbite, you’re not up to it.