I know some will say "now is not the time to point the finger during this crisis" but if not now, but later it will be swept under the carpet, that's the major party way. It is the elephant in the room, we don't have natural land borders with any other country in the world, but the arrival of COVID-19 on the shores of Australia represents the single greatest failure of the Liberal/National incumbents at both levels of government.

The failure to quarantine arrivals particularly in February onwards for a host of reasons - not wanting to inconvenience anyone, universities needing the foreign student revenue, the cost to quarantine thousands of arrivals by plane or boat, or we just simply couldn't be asked to do anything that would protect the health, safety and well-being of the Australian people or its economy and as if the drought or fires weren't enough pain for many and in rural Australia many communities still reel from the drought.

Despite the comments, suggesting that our PM is doing a tough job, or praise for hundreds of billions in stimulus funding creating its own debt and deficit emergency, I believe that he failed politics 101 for any PM - 'Thou shalt protect your country' - whatever the cost, whatever the burden. If you want the definition of incompetence, then I present to you the Ruby Princess. There should be some political court-martials for that debacle too. There is an old military adage appropriate to our circumstances: "Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance".

Now the economy is in tatters, previously vibrant businesses closed everywhere, hundreds of thousands more unemployed, seasonal sport ruined, the school itinerary in disarray, thousands of infections and 20 deaths (at time of writing), social isolation and restrictions on movement, mental health issues, shortages of medical equipment and disinfectant supplies with tonnes spirited out of Australia by zealous servants of the Chinese Communist Party a little over a month ago; panic buying and hoarding for weeks by understandably jittery Aussies, sometimes confused daily government orders, pressures on underfunded State health systems around the country all because incompetent government MPs didn't heed warnings from the World Health Organisation and appreciate that an island like Australia could easily be protected with stern quarantine action at our borders from January 2020.

As I said previously, I know some will say "now is not the time play the blame game" but Australia has been let down badly by indolence and vested interests put ahead of the welfare, security and future of our nation. I could write thousands of words amounting to a thesis about my disappointment but all I hope is that when the music ceases, those major party MP's that failed Australia and have permitted this calamity to befall our beloved land do not have a chair to sit on.

They are modern day Fifth Columnists who have been busy defunding the CSIRO, privatising everything to foreign entities to our detriment - note the sale of Darwin Port to the PRoC facilitated by Liberal Andrew Robb who was then bestowed with an $800,000 job with the company, or the sale of Newcastle Port to the PRoC facilitated by Liberal Mike Baird. Our local Federal and State MP's supported those sales. And what of the economy after this calamity? I have this image of us taking wheelbarrows full of valueless cash to the local baker to buy a loaf of bread. That's if the government lets us have more than $10,000 cash at a time. Now all we see from those MP's are glib messages about how to wash your hands properly and that interminable phrase "maintain social distancing".

Australians need to learn from this pandemic, to back ownership of Australia, to protect our agricultural food and water security, rebirth our manufacturing base etc. To regain our sovereignty, free from intervention of foreign powers infiltrating our Government and taking our assets by stealth, assisted by bad governance. We need to empower ourselves like New Zealand, banning all foreign acquisitions and act in the best Anzac spirit of protection and mateship for all, unified against those amongst us attempting to undermine our great nation.

Finally, there is one thing that fills me with optimism and warms the cockles of my heart and it is not our major party MP's - it is the spirit of the Aussie people. We see it in our weary essential workers, working under trying conditions, and that same Aussie spirit was demonstrated emphatically on the shores of Gallipoli by our ANZAC's, soldiers such as Billy Sing and others, or at Villers-Bretonneux, Ypres or the Battle of a Polygon Wood that we reflect on annually and that spirit thrived in parents, grand-parents and great grand-parents during the Great Depression. So, I end on a positive note - don't worry, about a thing, because every little thing is going to be alright. We are Australians. Stay Safe.

Mark Rodda, Tamworth