Former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says Australians have chosen to reject civil liberties in preference for stronger restrictions around the pandemic, claiming that health officials have been “deified.” Downer said in the United Kingdom, the government and public—prior to Freedom Day—had accepted lockdowns and restrictions as part-and-parcel of handling the virus. “They (Australians) have embraced the British approach with more gusto than even the British. The public couldn’t care less about civil liberties,” Downer wrote in an op-ed in the Australian Financial Review. “The media never asks questions about them. It just seems so normal to be locking down whole communities, and who cares where the money comes from to pay compensation to businesses and other affected people,” he said. “You would think the media would aggressively be asking questions about whether this strategy works, whether it is sustainable in the medium term and what it says about our society. …