If you could grant anyone 2 things, what would they be? Health and happiness! Two of the indicators used to indicate China’s economy is on the road to recovery from covid-19 restrictions are the increase in air pollution and coal consumption. Is China the litmus test for Australia’s recovery? Or, will Venice be, when the water in its famed canals returns to being dirty and smelly. Instead of trying to hasten a V or U-shaped economic recovery to what was, could we perhaps reset our recovery goals and aim for increases in indicators that reflect improving the health and happiness of all Australian citizens, not just some.
This Year’s Grade 12 Students Opinion’s Matter
What would a group of 17 to 18-year old’s think about this? After all they’re going to be living with the effects of covid-19 longer than most who are reading this.
One group that is more affected by the covid-19 conditions than most, that is not getting much recognition, is the current Grade 12 students. A special and significant year in these teenagers’ lives. Not just the school formal and to celebrate schoolies. This is the year they became school leaders, participate and head committees, get involved in school council, finally decided to take part in the school musical, their last opportunity to represent the school in sport and academia, possibly even call some of their teachers by their first name, the 18 year olds get to vote and to get the scores needed to pursue their hoped for careers. It is the year that best helps prepare them for their post-school lives. Now a huge chunk is to be spent physically isolated from their friends and school, missing out on the variety of interaction that is important in their future development.
How would they respond if local Councils approached each high school asking for the involvement of their Grade 12 students in planning their community’s covid recovery? Because as much as these are tough times to endure, it is also a unique time, the experience gained in how we deal with the present and plan for the future will be a rare valued skill. To involve teenagers, about to start their next stage of their lives, in planning a post covid environment is both a great learning experience for them (perhaps making up a little on what they are missing out on) and good for the community to hear plus possibly adopt their suggestions.
Suggestions possibly that don’t have increases in air pollution and coal consumption as indicators of economic success. Health and happiness maybe, yet jobs will arguably be foremost in their minds!
We Are Already Shaping Our Post Covid-19 Future
Of course, we should all be actively involved in planning our post covid-19 future and whether we are thinking about this or not our current actions are already shaping our community’s recovery. Will there be more or less local businesses operating, what job opportunities will be available, which sport and community clubs will grow, where will property values (residential and commercial) rise and fall, will the air be cleaner to breathe and water purer to drink, are we happier, is fundamentally determined by our spending. Where, who, what, your dollars are being spent affects our community every time. It can be for the better, but that largely depends on us, not council’s/government.
But hey, my one online purchase of a made in China product won’t make a significant difference and I’ll be happier with the price saving; trouble is we all sometimes think and act like this primarily because that’s what the capitalist system constantly encourages. Can a community first system successfully co-exist with a capitalist one? Yes, though we need to reset our success indicators; maybe something the current Grade 12 students can help with!