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Does anyone still really believe Covid policies were ‘all about the science’? If so, please get in touch: I’ve got shares in the Sydney Harbour Bridge I need to sell, cheap.
From the earliest months of the pandemic, it was increasingly obvious that Covid policy was being driven not by ‘science’ but by blind panic and instinctive lust for power. It was why, for example, decades of careful pandemic planning was simply thrown aside in the mad rush to ape China’s authoritarian lockdowns and mandates.
And the results were obvious, just as quickly: the ‘science-based’ policy just wasn’t working. If anything, the opposite: the most draconian Covid regimes had some of the worst outcomes of all.
Which brings us to Dan Andrews’ Victoria, the most locked-down place in the world. Anyone who still labours under delusions about ‘science-based policy’ need only pay attention to Dictator Dan himself.
Cabinet documents reveal the Andrews government grilled Victorians about which pandemic restrictions they would “really like to see go” in the months before and after Daniel Andrews released his roadmap out of lockdown.
If ‘science’ was the policy compass, then it shouldn’t have mattered which rules voters wanted gone. Andrews himself repeatedly claimed that it wasn’t about being popular, it was about “the science”. When, as we see, it was in fact all about being popular.
In revelations raising fresh questions about the former premier’s repeated claims that his government’s world-record 267 days of lockdown were guided by health advice and science, the documents confirm detailed “mood and concerns” research of Victorians was ordered.
No wonder the Victorian cabinet was desperate to keep this information buried and out of the public eye.
The Department of Premier and Cabinet has spent most of this year fighting to keep the key documents – draft discussion guides dated September and October 2021 for focus groups run by political intelligence and strategy consultant QDOS – secret from Victorians.
The discussion guides make it clear that, as the government was preparing its roadmap to freedom, released by Mr Andrews on September 19, 2021, the DPC and QDOS launched a major behavioural research project aimed at providing a detailed insight into public thinking about which “restrictions/aspects are more challenging” and if they were “getting into rhythm of it (lockdown) or is it grinding you down”.
QDOS is a shadowy, Labor-linked spin doctoring service which makes Prentiss McCabe, the Machiavellian PR company of Absolute Power, look like benevolent aunts.
QDOS is owned by veteran Labor political strategist and pollster John Armitage, who boasts about his firm’s ability to “squeeze, pump and stir” public opinion.
The draft discussion guide for focus groups teased lockdown-weary Victorians with the bait of lifting ‘some’ restrictions, and asked:
“What are the sorts of restrictions that you’d really like to see go (eg seeing family again cafes and restaurants open again) and what are the sorts of things you could live with (eg QR codes or keeping masks for a bit longer).”
The draft guide also suggests the government was anxious about community perceptions of its decision to abandon its “Covid zero” elimination strategy.
“How do you feel about the idea that we’re now NOT going for total elimination? Why has this been done?”, the draft states.
The final discussion guide remains secret, although other documents indicate the polling indeed took place. Data and analysis from the spin doctors also remains secret.
And the whole, shadowy paper trail leads straight back to Dear Leader himself.
The large-scale behavioural research program was controlled by the Premier’s private office, documents have revealed.
The Australian
“I’m just not in the business of ignoring advice, or shopping around for advice that suits me”
Daniel Andrews
Now we know that that was the only business he was in.
That, and Absolute Power.
