I had never thought of two people talking as a public gathering before. That’s the new limit. Our family has had its first Zoom connection. Puppy walks continue to the satisfaction of all participants. Procrastination is a new enemy now that time is endlessly discretional (sorry Mildred, sorry body, sorry decluttering). Moving well outside my comfort zone, I have made contact with a local music studio to see if I can get some musos and a singer to record my lyrics of a requiem for the voluntarily entombed, From a Distance unleashed.
So what of Mildred one of you said? I was moved to write her story after reading the entry about her in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. An educated, brilliant woman (BA 1901, MA 1905 Sydney University), Mildred married into our family in 1915, joining Bernard Muscio in matrimony, who was later to become Challis Professor of Philosophy at Sydney University. She came to my attention as a feisty feminist, internationalist, philosopher, educator, champion of child endowment with John Curtin and social critic across radio and print media. But more of her another time.
Australia has reached 4,164 cases and 18 deaths from COVID-19. Optimistic movement of the curve is hinted at by a slowing in the rate of increase of new cases (284 since 6am yesterday). NSW has 127 of these newbies for a total of 1,918. The world has suffered 33,968 deaths from 721,817 confirmed cases. Turkey is the new worry as a late entry to the affliction, running an instant high temperature.
This afternoon the Prime Minister and Treasurer announced a gob-smacking, eye-watering, (insert your own hyperbole) $130 billion Job-keeper wage subsidy program to retain employment. Employees are to receive, via their employer, $1,500 per fortnight over the next six months. There is also a moratorium on evictions. Acknowledging that some critics will deem this as still too little and others as too much, the PM could have called this the Goldilocks package. Added to previous fiscal stimulus measures the total unveiled is a staggering $320 billion or 16.4% of GDP. Strange days indeed for the advocates of small government.
Awesomely Astute 