Report: Many Australians Unlikely to Accept Future COVID-Style Lockdowns

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Facts

  • The Australian government released a review of its COVID pandemic response, finding that while 'courageous decisions' were made and 'decisive' action was taken early on, the public health restrictions lasted too long and 'eroded' public trust.[1]
  • The report also cited a 2024 survey — which referred to the 2020 national border shutdown and long-lasting, periodic state lockdowns from 2020-2021 — that found that one-third of the country believed the government overreacted to the pandemic.[2]
  • It further found that the economy lost A$31B (US$20B) due to 'delays in vaccine procurement and distribution,' stating that future policies should prioritize 'carrot' approaches like encouraging vaccines over 'stick' approaches like punishments.[3]
  • Regarding lockdowns and mask mandates, the report said such policies were not founded on evidence, resulting in a loss of 'credibility' for the lockdown measures.[1]
  • The report made nine 'guiding recommendations' and 26 'actions' to be taken, including spending A$251M (US$165M) on a new 'Centre for Disease Control' to focus on better communication and coordination between federal, state, and territory authorities.[4][5]

Sources: [1]Abc, [2]Reuters, [3]Guardian, [4]Prime Minister of Australia and [5]Youtube.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Conversation. While it's unfortunate that Australia didn't have a proper system in place before the pandemic, this inquiry will help the nation in the future. To prevent another COVID-like tragedy, the government will need state-of-the-art institutions to detect, track, and study new diseases and their changing variants. And on the social side of the issue, it must ensure that poor and vulnerable communities aren't disproportionately impacted by public health mandates.
  • Narrative B, as provided by PJ Media and FOX News. The Australian government has provided no reason for why it should be trusted again. Not only did it impose Orwellian lockdowns on its citizens, but these draconian measures didn't ultimately slow the spread of COVID in the end. The government is now calling for public health-related censorship, further proving its distaste for freedom. The public has a right to question any future policies proposed by their power-hungry leaders.

Predictions