We need leadership now

Social media has erupted with viewers pinning the blame on others in communities. i.e the eastern suburbs of Sydney are being called out for lighter restrictions, while Sydney's west are being abused for not staying at home.

Some Newcastle real estate agents are saying Sydney buyers will be turned away at open homes, although the industry bodies announced a loophole letting buyers know they could travel to look at property.

With so much up in the air at the moment & the snipping going on. We need leadership now!

The mental health issues that are going to come from this latest outbreak are going to cost our country far more than what a snap lockdown would have.

So why is this outbreak causing more unrest than what we have seen in the past?

Starting from an international flight crew landing in Sydney, the virus spread through the eastern suburbs where it was controlled, and made its way Sydney’s western suburbs where it exploded. The virus has also spread to the central coast, wollongong and other areas in greater Sydney, with daily cases changing in these areas.

People are exhausted. It’s been 19 months since we first went into lockdown and things aren’t looking up. We are being told it will get worse before it gets better. This is an extremely difficult time for businesses who just barely got through the last 18 months to be told we are back in lockdown with no end in sight. For a business owner on their knees, families who are down to one income or now on government payouts or trying to work from home and homeschool, this is incredibly hard.

What makes it even harder is the constant changing of the goal posts.

The rules keep changing and as much as you try not to, nearly every Sydney resident is tuning in at 11am to get the latest update.

We are a country of mates that’s quickly becoming a country of states, and the fighting within the states is now starting to get out of hand.

However, it’s not just politicians causing a divide in our communities. An excerpt from a well known buyer agent in Newcastle posted to Facebook last night;

“Newcastle/Hunter Valley Real Agents - Do our industry/region a favour. Do not allow buyers or agents from Greater Sydney through your inspections.

The facts are, not every postcode in Sydney is infectious or is reporting cases.

One follower on the thread mentioned the REINSW said there was a loophole which allowed people to travel to look at property in the region.

One agent posted “the covidiots won’t be allowed into any of our open homes, whether it’s for sale or lease. While another posted he “just refused some entry to an open home”.

So who is in the wrong here?

1) Is it our state government for not being 100% crystal clear?

2) Should the entire state go into a full lockdown to squash this thing once and for all?

3) Is it the REINSW for announcing a loophole allowing buyers to travel to look at property?

4) Is it people taking to social media to demonise EVERY Sydney sider, whether they are in a hotspot or not?

5) Is it agents proudly boasting they won’t be allowing buyers into open homes?

6) Should agents have procedures in place to offer virtual inspections or pre qualify/pre warn buyers in their marketing?

What is lacking in some of the commentary is a lack of empathy for those doing the right thing, and having outsiders treating millions of residents as people to avoid.

You can see where this kind of behavior could end up if we don’t get leadership soon.

It’s not just real estate agents pinning neighbours against each other. Small business owners who aren’t allowed to open are also trashing those online who are.

The messages are mixed from the top, but our compassion for our mates in this country should not be. We are NOT all in this together and it's clear by some of the content being posted on social media, that this is going to be a bigger problem in the future than what we can grasp now.

We need to remember there will be a life outside of lockdown.

We need to remember we were there for the farmers doing what we could with the droughts in 2019.

We need to remember we were there for those in the bushfires in 2019/2020.

We need to remember we were there for the floods in 2020 and we need to be there for each other during this. We need to remember that when we come out of this, people will remember.

If we don’t have leaders to look up to, then be that leader for your own community.