Michelle Grattan
Australia’s government-appointed inquiry into the country’s covid-19 response warned yesterday that public trust would not be so high in a future pandemic and people would now be unlikely to accept many of the measures imposed during covid.
“That means there is a job to be done to rebuild trust, and we must plan a response based on the Australia we are today, not the Australia we were before the pandemic,” the inquiry’s report said. Trust in the government was essential for a successful response to a pandemic.
At covid’s outset, the public largely did what was asked of them, complying with restrictive public health orders. But the initial strengthening of trust in government did not continue through the pandemic, the report said. By the second year, restrictions on personal freedom were less accepted.
Reasons for the decrease in trust included a lack of transparency in decision-making, poor communication, the stringency and duration of restrictions, implementation of mandated measures, access to vaccines and inconsistencies in responses across jurisdictions, the report said.
The overall takeout is that “Australia did well relative to other nations that experienced larger losses in human life, health system collapse and more severe economic downturns”. But “the pandemic response was not as effective as it could have been” for an event for which there was “no playbook for pivotal actions”.
The report said “with the benefit of hindsight, there was excessive fiscal and monetary policy stimulus provided throughout 2021 and 2022, especially in the construction sector. Combined with supply-side disruptions, this contributed to inflationary pressures coming out of the pandemic.”
The inquiry was conducted by former NSW public servant Robyn Kruk, epidemiologist Catherine Bennett and economist Angela Jackson. It examined the health and economic responses; while it did not directly delve into the state responses, it did cover the federal-state interface.
Independent statutory agency
The panel has made a set of recommendations to ensure better preparation for a future pandemic.
The impacts on children should be considered in future pandemic preparations, it said, highlighting the “tail” the pandemic had left, especially its effect on children, who suffered school closures.
“Children faced lower health risks from covid-19; however, broader impacts on the social and emotional development of children are ongoing. These include impacts on mental health, school attendance and academic outcomes for some groups of children.”
The report noted the Australian Health Protection Principals Committee had never recommended widespread school closures and a lack of clear communication about risks had created the environment for states to decide on remote learning.
The panel strongly backed making permanent the interim Australian Centre for Disease Control. The government will legislate next year for the CDC to begin work as an independent statutory agency on 1 January 2026.
The CDC would be important in rebuilding trust, the report said, as well as “strengthening resilience and preparedness”.
It would provide “national coordination to gather evidence necessary to undertake the assessments that can guide the proportionality of public health responses in future crises”.
Michelle Grattan is a Professorial Fellow at the University of Canberra
The above first appeared in The Conversation and is republished with permission
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