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Coronavirus pandemic

March

Chalmers splashed 20 major spending measures, but just 3 big savings

Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget contains expenditure at a 40-year high outside of the pandemic. Economists warn promises of future restraint seem unrealistic.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Five years after Covid, Australia is unprepared for next global storm

Neither major party has offered a credible path for “growing the pie”, fixing the budget and preparing the nation’s military for a new era of disruption.

Victoria will become a ‘mendicant state’ next financial year, receiving a $3.9 billion boost in GST as Queensland suffers a $2.4 billion reduction in funding.

Debt-laden ‘poor state’ Victoria to get GST bailout

Victoria will become a “mendicant state” next financial year, receiving a $3.9 billion boost in GST as Queensland suffers a $2.4 billion reduction in funding.

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ASX dives; Behind Wall Street’s violent slump; Why Vic is so angry

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton:  the Victorian experience where curfews and distance limits were imposed without clear medical advice has done deep damage to public trust.

How to undo the damage Victoria’s COVID response did to public trust

Federal and state governments should adopt a uniform code for pandemic management mandating medical advice be signed and published for any restrictive measures.

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Daniel Andrews oversaw some of the toughest and longest lasting lockdowns in the world.

Why Victoria is still so angry about Dan Andrews’ lockdown

A new report has found 66 per cent of respondents nationally believe their state or territory took the appropriate steps to stop the spread of the virus.

NAB outgoing chief economist Alan Oster leaves a big legacy in Australian markets.

After 32 years as NAB’s economist, Alan Oster has a message for your kids

The veteran reveals his most important economic indicator, his big fear about the Australian economy and why he’s not worried about high house prices.

January

Many overseas travellers are returning from holidays with more than good memories.

Why it’s a bad year for holidaymakers bringing flu home from Europe

Australians holidaying in the northern hemisphere are returning with nasty strains of influenza which experts blame on low immunisation rates since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

December 2024

Ten wildcard scenarios for 2025

To navigate the future, it can help to anticipate the unlikely. Here are 10 unbelievable-sounding things that could happen next year.

November 2024

RBA governor Michele Bullock is not for turning.

RBA underestimating risk of recession

Readers’ letters on interest rates; Future Fund investments; a fix for capital gains tax; the response to COVID-19; the influence of founders; data-driven investing; and the ghosts of Christmases past.

October 2024

The authoritarianism extended to overreach such as bans on public gatherings that saw police order people sitting alone on beaches to ‘disperse’.

Don’t suppress democracy in a pandemic

Not even a public health crisis should justify suppression of the normal rules of democratic debate about government actions and policy alternatives.

Housing construction is hampered by planning laws.

Don’t blame HomeBuilder for inflation: economists

The Coalition and economists have rejected the pandemic inquiry’s criticisms of the $2.6 billion housing construction stimulus.

The US Centers for Disease Contol rapidly became politicised.

The danger of COVID zealots has not passed

The proposed new Australian Centre for Disease Control is open to the same ideological capture that plagued its US counterpart.

Heavy-handed COVID restrictions have destroyed trust in government

Many of the measures taken during COVID‑19 are unlikely to be accepted by the population again, due to the lack of trust created by the heavy-handed response.

Australia did better than many other countries in responding to COVID-19.

US-style CDC to co-ordinate response, combat fake news

A new agency will be charged with preparing against infectious disease, after a review found a lack of real-time data reduced trusts in pandemic restrictions.

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Up and down: The post-HomeBuilder level for home-building isn’t clear.

Pandemic HomeBuilder response fuelled inflation and housing shortage

Most of the $2.6 billion stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic was spent on renovations, not building new homes, an inquiry has found.

Overall, Australia’s COVID management was a huge success

Where we succeeded, it was the result of good institutions and good decision-making. But that’s not to say we didn’t stumble.

Root-and-branch reform is the only way to restore the trust that has been lost in our institutions’ ability to provide for and serve Australia’s people.

Inquiry whitewashes the colossal mismanagement

The authors of the report are oblivious to the most fundamental big-picture cracks in our institutions revealed by the country’s Covid-19 response.

We should never see such an old-school pandemic response again

At the next pandemic, Australia should focus on key risk groups and be driven by reliable official public data.

The losses on the loans forced the RBA to suspend paying multi-billion dollar annual dividends to the government and plunged its balance sheet into negative equity.

RBA concedes $188b in cheap loans may have gone too far

The losses on the loans forced the RBA to suspend paying multibillion-dollar annual dividends to the government and plunged its balance sheet into negative equity.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/coronavirus-pandemic-1ndb