A city divided

Friday’s 11am press conference with the NSW Premier, Deputy Premier, Chief Health Officer and Police Commissioner went over about as well as a slap in the face.

Of course, we all knew the lockdown now affecting the entire state could not possibly be lifted next Friday as planned, but to hear of its extension for another month was nonetheless jarring. The news was met across Sydney with a mix of disbelief, anger and helplessness - and that was mainly from people who don’t even live in the “areas of concern”. What those people are going through is harder than the rest of us can imagine.

It’s very easy for journalists and commentators to get caught in their echo chambers, not helped by social media such as Twitter; the “Canberra bubble” is often criticised for it, but it’s not alone. Most of the media’s leadership live in the inner city, the east or northern beaches; most journalists too. But our city is divided - by law, in fact. The NSW leadership is fond of saying we’re all in this together - but we’re not. Not really.

The Herald’s education editor, Jordan Baker, lives in one of the areas “of concern”, probably no more than 500 metres from other friends and colleagues who don’t. She explains how the vast majority of law-abiding residents in those local government areas feel stigmatised, abandoned and worried about the future.

“Yes, Melbourne had a curfew and a one-hour exercise rule. But that applied to the whole city, not just half of it, and not the half that is the most disadvantaged,” Jordan writes. “The people in wealthy suburbs calling for a tougher lockdown have got what they want, at no cost to them.

“And if the government is willing to tighten the screws so selectively now, what’s next? Will the uptown boroughs sip champagne in wine bars under eased rules for the vaccinated, while the rest of us sit at home under curfew, listening to the sound of police helicopters? Will their schools open, but not ours?”

Her powerful piece reinforced to me just how important it is to challenge those bubbles; to always look beyond them.

We are in a tough spot - and it’s always tougher for someone else. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to be homeschooling or entertaining young children in a small flat while trying to work, let alone those whose incomes have evaporated.

The Herald’s editorial line has always been broadly supportive of lockdowns in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19, but it must be said this morning’s press conference left me somewhat aghast. If these measures were so crucial in our fight against the virus, why weren’t they implemented months ago?