Politics can be a brutal sport, but it need not always be so.
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For the past couple of months there has been an almost eerie spirit of cooperation among our political leaders at the state and federal level, as the different levels of government put aside their differences and acknowledged the need to work together.
But in the past few weeks, there have been a couple of disappointing sporadic outbursts that have flown in the face of the unity most of us have appreciated.
This past weekend's intermissions by federal Education Minister Dan Tehan is perhaps the best/worst example of an elected official letting themselves down at a time when the rest of us are focused on a way out of the pandemic and its associated impacts, and less upon ourselves.
The minister's criticism of the Victorian government's handling of the state education system and its steadfast refusal to buckle to federal demands was ill-conceived and ill-placed.
The problem for Mr Tehan is that we can all see this for ourselves.
To his credit, the minister showed some humility late yesterday in backtracking from his earlier thinly veiled criticisms, and that's something else we can all learn from.
The Victorian government's slow and steady approach gives us all an indication of how we can expect restrictions to be eased at some stage later this month, and it likely won't be something this government does in a hurry.
None of us can afford to forget the coronavirus pandemic started with one person far, far away, and it simply won't end on the back of a politician's promise or announcement.
There's a long way to go, and it's clear life will, in many ways, never be the same.
Re-opening schools, offices and shops will be harder than closing them in the first place. So too will the process of dismantling all this previously unimaginable good work on the part of government.
The federal government faces a challenge in looking to reduce financial supports as it tries to get the country back on track, but it cannot afford to leave anyone behind.