Australians are at risk as too many of our leaders abdicate responsibility for Covid to pander to their political base | Malcolm Farr

The epidemic of indecision and timidity pouring out of the offices of premiers and the prime minister has turned Christmas into a game of chance for thousands of Australian families.

The loss of seasonal certainty is deeply felt in most communities.

But an even broader concern is the absence of firm management of this health crisis by some governments at the state and federal levels.

The expanding notion that no government is good government is a debate topic, not a response to a crisis. And it is easily converted into camouflage for incompetence.

Government leaders in various jurisdictions are offering what they see as gallant resistance to unpopular measures to contain viral spread. Their gallantry has bred chaos as Omicron sweeps through communities.

The examples of government defying global precedent on fighting Covid are stark.

It was also a sign the premier appeared to be ignoring reality.

On Thursday NSW reported more than 5,700 Covid cases, and the queues to be tested are being matched in scale by the number of hospitalisations. The number of hospitalised Covid patients rose from 302 to 347 in 24 hours.

It is not that Australia has had a unique history with the virus, much as we might strut boastfully as we highlight our vaccination rates. Denmark had a splendid vaccination rate as well but is now back to closing public gathering places, from zoos to cinemas, in desperate attempts to forestall an Omicron takeover.

Tolerating Covid has not worked elsewhere. Doing little or nothing is a deadly strategy.

Tougher restrictions are now in place in Britain as Johnson pays a political price for past laxity and hypocrisy. Downing Street is being portrayed in leaks as being party central while Britons elsewhere were ordered to isolate.

Apparently the need for booster shots came as a surprise to those in Australia in charge of distributing them, despite the rest of the world having talked through the issue for several weeks.

An attempt to placate the frustration came with assurances that there were plenty of doses in stock and about to be delivered. One epidemiologist replied the vaccines had to be in arms, not trucks.

The Covid pandemic is a major health emergency which is eroding faith in elected representatives, but less so in those states who have stood firm on unpopular measures.

The flinching by government has added to chaos and, more importantly, to the likelihood thousands more Australians will be incapacitated, or even killed, by the virus.