Change...

It’s never easy, but often necessary. As anyone familiar with myMamamia podcast seriesRestart would know, I’ve been talking a lot about change. In fact it’s the premise behind the entire series.

The need for change. The why, when and how we do it, and the promise that it is never too late to change everything.

In the last week, I’ve experienced firsthand the devastation wrought by the once-in-a-lifetime floods which have buffeted much of my home, Northern NSW and Southeast Queensland.

Witnessing the systemic failure of those we elected to take charge, and adequately mobilise forces necessary to safeguard the wellbeing of those who elected them when they needed it most left me, like most of Australia, in despair. Clearly our entire government needs a restart, but then perhaps the entire world does too.

From the bushfires, to the pandemic, now the floods, and the chaos playing out in the Ukraine...When will we see real change?!

Listen to Madeleine's chat about her own 'restart.' Post continues after podcast.

I don’t mean to sound preachy, I’m just confused. I consider myself a logical person and I believe that above all else our government needs to be logical, to make sense. We all have to pay our taxes, our traffic fines, we read the signs and adhere to instructions, and accept the penalties when we fail to do so... So why can’t we ask the same of our leaders?

In the case of the floods, where is the co-ordinated response which was demanded of us throughout the pandemic? The response we’ve earned, that we should all rightfully expect? I’m still waiting for the powers that be to swoop in, rally the troops and direct us where to go. What to do. But it’s just not happening. Entire communities are still stranded. Roads blocked, families waiting to be saved with no water, no food.

A critical finding of the Royal Commission into the Black Summer bushfires was that the Commonwealth government - that’s Scott Morrison and his team - has the power to play a greater role in natural disasters, like floods, and can declare a national state of emergency.

This is the catalyst needed so Commonwealth resources, like our military, can be deployed in a coherent, cohesive, coordinated pre-emptive response.

So why hasn’t it happened? Where's the proclamation of ‘national disaster?’ What more do you want? How many lives and livelihoods lost? If this is just the debacle that was the bushfire response playing out again, why did we endure a two year royal commission in the first place?

C’mon ScoMo. We know you are sick with COVID but try telling that to the families on rooftops, the small business owner's knee deep in contaminated mud, the elderly couple treading ice cold water for hours in an air bubble against their ceiling. You think they don’t feel sick? Pull your boots on and do what you were elected to do.

Take charge! Someone has to.

I’ve been engaging in some very enlightening chats in the last 24 hours with fellow frustrated Aussies about constitutional law, chains of command, and have been challenged several times to state my case.