COVID inquiry
The forgotten human toll of locking up the state
Policymakers overlooked social cohesion and mental health factors when pushing through health orders, according to a panel of experts.
- by Michael Koziol and Alexandra Smith
Latest
Exclusive
State Parliament
The ‘morally wrong’ restriction the police refused to follow
NSW’s approach to COVID lockdowns and policing lacked clarity, should have been more localised, went for too long and risked social division, according to a panel of experts.
- by Alexandra Smith and Michael Koziol
The secrets kept from those inside the nerve centre fighting COVID
As state and federal governments fought for control of borders and information during the pandemic, some of the most vulnerable were left at risk.
- by Mary Ward and Kate Aubusson
Exclusive
Healthcare
The next pandemic is inevitable. Australia isn’t ready
NSW is less prepared to fight a pandemic today than before COVID-19, say top infectious disease and public health veterans at the nerve centre of the state’s war against the virus.
- by Kate Aubusson and Mary Ward
Exclusive
Education
Nearly half of all high school students feel like they don’t belong. Here’s why
Surveys of hundreds of thousands of NSW public school students reveal a declining sense of belonging since 2016.
- by Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
Mental health
COVID left us poorer, sicker and with a big financial headache, inquiry told
Businesses, unions, health experts and the education sector say Australia needs to prepare for future pandemics to avoid repeating mistakes that are still being felt in some parts of the nation.
- by Shane Wright
Updated
Victorian Parliament
Anguish for families as hotel quarantine case collapses, ‘no one held accountable’
No one will be held criminally responsible for a COVID-19 outbreak from hotel quarantine that led to the death of 768 people and one of the world’s longest lockdowns.
- by Alex Crowe, David Estcourt and Aisha Dow
Perth company, former boss cop hefty fines for ‘COVID killer’ sanitiser claims
Perth-based natural wellness company Holista CollTech and its chief have been hit with $2 million in fines for falsely claiming its plant-based hand sanitiser killed COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic.
- by Jesinta Burton
Teenagers the biggest losers of COVID-era school closures
In the third and final part of this series, experts say the impact of COVID-era school closures on a generation of students is still unclear.
- by Lucy Carroll and Jordan Baker
Violence, anxiety in students as young as 5: Marks of the COVID generation
In part two of this series, experts discuss reports of students struggling and teachers being physically attacked in the aftermath of school closures during the pandemic.
- by Jordan Baker and Lucy Carroll
‘We made the wrong decisions’: COVID-era mass school closures condemned
Closing Sydney’s schools was one of the biggest – and most controversial – calls made during the pandemic. But was it really necessary?
- by Jordan Baker and Lucy Carroll
Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/topic/covid-inquiry-6g8k