Unfortunately, governments are too sensitive to the straw man arguments of the stupid who claim they were promised a return to normal. I'd guess that there would have been little point in the Qld government trying to suppress Christmas and NY celebrations as there would have been mass non-compliance anyway. They could have shut down commercial premises but good luck trying to stop gatherings in private premises.
Like you, I would be happy for governments to go back to the drawing board as Omicron might as well be an entirely different pandemic. Everything should be back on the table. But that does raise the issue of what would work in the battle against Omicron. Unfortunately, what worked with Covid before Delta is pretty much irrelevant now. Lockdowns and contact-tracing are so last year. It's a no-brainer now that anyone who wants to avoid contracting Covid should be getting a booster, wearing a mask when mixing with other people and avoiding crowds.
Like you, I would be happy for governments to go back to the drawing board as Omicron might as well be an entirely different pandemic. Everything should be back on the table. But that does raise the issue of what would work in the battle against Omicron. Unfortunately, what worked with Covid before Delta is pretty much irrelevant now. Lockdowns and contact-tracing are so last year. It's a no-brainer now that anyone who wants to avoid contracting Covid should be getting a booster, wearing a mask when mixing with other people and avoiding crowds.