Day 19 Easter Sunday

There is still much controversy about visiting friends. The Premier says one thing, the Police Commissioner another, then the Feds take our full page adds and they all say something different. We thought about taking some food to our friends who are in isolation and over 70 and as best as we can determine this is an allowed essential travel exemption. They also have a very large home so it would be possible to easily practice social distancing. However, it is not something that one would do regularly, as the stay at home message seems to be sinking in here. The streets are very quiet.

It is actually strange to sit on our balcony and not see any ships or planes. I think we are down to two Cairns - Brisbane flights Mon to Fri for essential workers. There seem to be more birds about as well, with a mob of red crested, black cockatoos visiting today. And to top it off, this Easter has been beautiful 29C, low humidity and no rain. I reckon I have seen more wet Easters than dry in my living memory.

I saw a headline today that a house in Sydney exploded (unknown cause) and partially collapsed and it reminded me of the time one Easter, while mum and dad were at Mass, I decided to play with the gunpowder I had made. I must have been 13 or 14 and my brother Michael and I were filling small glass bottles with gunpowder and sealing them with wax from a burning candle, at the kitchen table. All good so far, but … well the story ended OK with only a very large circular burn in the new laminex table. Parents not amused.

As police around Australia exercise unprecedented powers to fine people found to be breaching physical-distancing measures, community legal groups are watching closely. And guess where they are looking?

The Police Accountability Project, Liberty Victoria and a number of other groups have banded together to set up a website for anyone who feels they have witnessed or been subjected to unreasonable law enforcement activity during the shutdown. Gives lawyers something to do I guess.