THE line at the Bobby & Me coffee caravan was about 10 deep as I stood in the winter sunshine on Mildura’s riverfront last Sunday.
People were happily scattered waiting around for their orders, noticeably at an appropriate distance apart, and the surrounding parkland was filled with hundreds of locals and tourists alike.
For a brief moment, life in Mildura felt wonderfully normal again.
And it occurred to me that if hundreds can again gather outside at the riverfront, then why can’t hundreds gather outside at a local sporting ground?
That if ordinary folk are capable of queuing up 1.5 metres apart at a local cafe or pop-up caravan, then why can’t they line up at a club canteen abiding by the same social distancing measures?
And why, if the government has no issue with hundreds of people watching ducks swim in the river, is it refusing to let a soul watch a game of footy or netball?
About a month ago, Daniel Andrews used the words “safe” and “appropriate” over and over as he justified the extension of our state of emergency due to the coronavirus.
At the time, I wrote that the messaging felt staged and disproportionate to the number of active cases in the community.
But Mr Andrews has maintained a hard-line stance driven by fear tactics throughout this pandemic. Remember, he told us if you play golf, people may die, so that has been his consistent modus operandi. You could argue it has worked.
At some point, though, with new case numbers hovering around zero, certainly in terms of any community transmission of the disease, the messaging has started to wear thin?
In country regions like Sunraysia, where there has been no new cases in months, it’s clear many feel it is safe and appropriate to get outdoors and return to a level of normality again?
A big part of that normality in country regions will be the return of local sport.
Having grown up in a small country town with significant socioeconomic issues, I place enormous value on the importance of a community sporting club.
For many of us, being part of that sporting environment provided direction and focus, gave us routine and taught us discipline and respect. It drove personal standards that knocked on to other aspects of our lives. To be honest, I don’t know where a lot of us in my town would have ended up without those positive influences.
Most of all, our sporting club was a place where we felt we belonged. It was like a second home. And that went for many people in our community, old and young.
To have denied so many communities that outlet over the past few months has been no small thing.
While the government’s measures to flatten the curve of coronavirus have been necessary, the numbers now suggest that the damage being done to communities from an economic and mental health viewpoint overrides the current virus threat.
And if there is an avenue to seriously easing restrictions now, they should be making every effort to do so.
In South Australia, the State Government this week announced that crowds of 500 would again be allowed at local football matches.
It is an announcement that will get the hearts of country communities beating again.
In Victoria, Mr Andrews continues to offer no clarity on the issue.
His stance has led to more community leagues making the decision to cancel their seasons this week, which is a sad thing.
So far, the Sunraysia Football Netball League has left the door slightly ajar, but the clock is ticking and it will be midnight soon. The government needs to act swiftly.
Yes, a shortened nine-round season in the SFNL would be different.
But getting local sport back will go a long way to restoring a sense of normality in the country.
