The news: The federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic was overly fixated on case numbers, and did not adequately consider the broader mental health impact of lockdowns and school closures, a landmark inquiry has found.
The context: On Tuesday, the Albanese government released its inquiry into the Commonwealth’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, which found the Morrison government acted quickly and effectively to align its health and economic responses.
But it warned that Australians’ compliance with future measures — including lockdowns and quarantine — should not be taken for granted, given trust in decisions declined throughout the pandemic. The report framed rebuilding public trust as critical to the success of future pandemic responses.
The report found that the “buying time” strategy, like a national border shutdown and mandatory quarantine, successfully averted soaring mortality rates overseas.
And the decision to move quickly on support systems — like JobKeeper and JobSeeker — helped mitigate many of the social and economic impacts of the pandemic, it found.
But it warned the government subsequently decided to maintain a “low risk tolerance” for case numbers without adequately considering the broader health implications of restrictions. That included poor mental health brought on by social isolation, anxiety from increased disruption, and the scaling back of other health responses — like cancer screening.
“The pandemic response should have shifted … to a risk-based approach grounded in evidence,” it said.
School closures, which were never recommended by health authorities, have had a substantial impact on young Australians’ mental health. The report recommended a pre-planned system for remote learning if a future pandemic necessitated school closures, though the authors believed that should be a last-resort.
Among its 19 recommendations for immediate action was the establishment of a Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to coordinate data sharing across states, create plans for future pandemics, and to synthesise communication — particularly to at-risk groups. Australia is the only OECD nation without a CDC, though the Albanese government has established an interim CDC as it develops a fully-fledged model.
The report warned that information sharing was hampered by different states collecting data in different ways, and lacking the ability to glean information on at-risk groups — like (culturally and linguistically diverse) CALD communities and people with disability.
When it was announced, the inquiry was criticised for excluding decisions made unilaterally by the states and territories, despite those jurisdictions wielding significant powers — including lockdowns and school closures. Many states have launched their own inquiries.
What they said: “Despite [a] lack of planning, Australia fared well relative to other nations … [we] conclude that this was due to a combination of factors … [It] was a testament to the willingness to put community interests ahead of self‐interests and to all do our bit as part of ‘Team Australia’,” the authors wrote.
The source: Covid-19 inquiry report
More news: Health Minister Mark Butler has warned that Australia is now “worse-placed” to deal with a pandemic than it was before Covid-19.
A landmark report into the Commonwealth’s response to the pandemic warned that eroded public trust means “many of the measures taken during Covid‐19 are unlikely to be accepted by the population again”.
Butler said that was a “crucial” factor undermining Australia’s preparedness, but he also cited a health system “scarred” by Covid-19 and the departure of many experienced public servants, often due to exhaustion.
“We are arguably worse-placed as a country to build a pandemic [response] than we were, for a range of reasons,” he said.
On Tuesday, Butler confirmed Labor will spend $251 million over the forward estimates to upgrade its interim Centre For Disease Control — a key recommendation of the report – to a full-fledged model in 2026.
What they said: “It was very much a team Australia effort on the part of our community … [but] the erosion of trust has had very, very significant impacts on the community,” Butler said on Tuesday.