Former health secretary Stephen Duckett has spoken to The Mandarin about how governments at all levels have responded during this extraordinary time in history, and lists some of the key bureaucratic challenges holding the commonwealth government back.
From overnight border closures, quarantine quibbles and a vaccine rollout that stumbled at the starting gate — the toll of COVID-19 has been serious and widely felt. So why, during a global pandemic, has Australia’s government response felt so bungled, and how long will it take before we reach herd immunity?
Jabs, jobs and leadership gestures
The government declared this week that Australia’s emergency response to the COVID-19 virus was over (in the same week it clamped down on all returning flights from India until mid-May), saying it was now time to transition to the ‘path of economic recovery’.
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