The fundamental role of government is to secure the welfare and safety of its people. The COVID-19 crisis coming so soon after the summer’s extraordinary bushfires has created massive pressure on the Australian government to mobilise government systems to make payments to individuals and businesses.

While a pandemic such as COVID-19 seems to have been foreseeable, the government response is being developed on the run, and the broader economic impact is likely to last longer. The time scale of the COVID-19 health challenge is unclear, but the government package is set for six months.