I don't understand

Is The Australian Government irresponsible?

In early 2020, professor Yuval Noah Harri published a warning in the Financial Times titled: The World after Coronavirus. To paraphrase the article: 'the pandemic will compel governments to fast-forward technological progress. Technologies that are made and approved for use in 10 years will be made and approved for use within minutes. Consequently, immature and dangerous technologies will be pressed upon society in the name of the greater good. Whole societies could become experiments.'

Harri's warning must not have meet enough readers because this is precisely what happened. In a bid to combat COVID-19, The Australian Government financially pressured pharmaceutical companies into developing vaccines in record time. The Australian Government then bought and mandated these vaccines before the vaccines had time to be FDA approved. That is, our government spent billions of dollars on biotechnologies before the long term consequences could be foreseen.

Of course, our government could not normally roll out biotechnology that isn't FDA approved. To bypass standard protocol, our two-party government mandated the vaccines by creating and passing emergency law, essentially turning the whole country into a scientific experiment. Furthermore, to soften the public's resistance to the idea of becoming lab rats, the government used each of its media mediums in a specialized way - to surround and subdue the public into getting vaccinated. This encirclement strategy was likened to that of Nazi Germany's. It left few gaps for outside thought and overwhelmed the public into submission - one could not go to a public toilet without being reminded to "protect your family by getting vaccinated." Thus, it shouldn't be a surprise that up to 45% of the public are glorying the idea.

We cannot fault the pharmaceutical companies for developing vaccines. But we can, and must ask the question: "Is the Australian government handling the vaccine rollout in a responsible manner?" The answer is likely not. To think otherwise is to place virtue above science. In no way is it responsible to financially pressure pharmaceutical companies into developing biotechnology in record time for what you perceive as the greater good. Nor, under any circumstances is it responsible to mandate that same biotechnology before its long term consequences are apparent. This is because mandating any technology before the long term consequence are apparent is to put millions of people at risk of technological consequences - which is the opposite of a successful implementation.

Granting yourself emergency powers so that you can bypass standard protocol and madate biotechnologies in the name of virtue is a recipe for disaster. The pandemic has shown that both technology and emergency powers in hands of the two party government are what a barrel of rum is in the hands of an alcoholic. This country needs to look to new government. Preferably one that does not make decisions on impulse.