In the words of former US vice president Hubert Humphrey in the 70s, “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of their life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly...”

Governments and governance in this country during COVID have failed this moral test, and mental health in this country, especially for our children, is declining.

Human beings are gregarious in nature and our primal need to socialise sustains our very breath. Therefore the consequences of persistent and externally imposed social isolation tears at the fabric of what makes us human, physically well and literally sane.

The nation’s plan for re-opening is increasingly looking shaky, with some Premiers deciding to go their own way. After 18 months we still do not have the certainty we need. Business doesn’t have the certainty it needs. All of our children are not yet at school, or even allowed to play in the playgrounds.

Today I am joined by Matt Fox, who runs a fitness business on the Sunshine Coast.

Our children, are perhaps the victims of the greatest deprivations, not only of liberty, but of education and normal development; deprivation of swings, slippery slides and rides on the bike, swims at the beach and local sport; deprivation of crucial friendship supports and separated parents. It is a matter of extreme urgency that children be allowed to return to the anchors that sustain them. Mental health professionals around the country are campaigning for the mental health needs of our children and it is overdue that we hear their voices loudly.

So many business have gone beyond the point of return. So many employees are faced with gut wrenching decisions around their freedoms and the removal of informed consent on the vaccination.

The Australian people have been cornered into complying with demands that strip them of their right to make choices for their health, their families and their livelihoods. It is entirely reasonable that many of us feel lost for words and lost for direction.

There is hope, with sentiment is now turning. More and more people are demanding that we get back to work and get our kids back to school. Increasing numbers of people are far more worried about their work and livelihoods than about catching COVID.

Australia, we need to get moving again.