Review of COVID-19 response suffers from not being wide enough

The first wide-ranging inquiry into the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered surprisingly sharp criticisms, given that the limited nature of the investigation had created expectations its findings would be circumspect.

Instead, the inquiry found the Morrison government’s delays procuring COVID-19 vaccines cost lives and delivered a $31 billion hit to the economy. Further, Australians have lost trust in government and the health system is still struggling. Children are still suffering from mental health and academic consequences due to school closures, people are more reluctant to receive vaccines, there are higher levels of domestic violence, and elective surgery backlogs still plague hospitals.

“Trust has … been eroded,” the report concluded. “Many of the measures taken during COVID‑19 are unlikely to be accepted by the population again … We must plan a response based on the Australia we are today, not the Australia we were before the pandemic.”

The report recommended the government review the $32 billion cashflow boost to employers, HomeBuilder, the pandemic leave disaster payment, and slated early access to superannuation in the event of another pandemic.

Despite the criticisms, the report into the Commonwealth’s response to the pandemic by senior public servant Robyn Kruk, economist Angela Jackson and infectious-disease expert Catherine Bennett found Australia had done well in handling the outbreak and fared better than countries that had larger loss of life, health system collapses and more severe economic downturns.

A $252 million Australian Centre for Disease Control set to open in 2026 will be the key to co-ordinating a national response. “One of the most common phrases we heard during the inquiry was ‘building the plane while it was flying’,” the report said. “There was little clarity as to roles and responsibilities, particularly between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments … [This] caused significant distress, delays and increased risk of harm in key areas of the pandemic response.”

The inquiry reviewed provision of vaccinations, treatments and medical supplies, mental health support for people, and lockdowns and financial support for individuals and business. Its remit included looking at joint Commonwealth-state actions, although its terms of reference precluded examining unilateral actions taken by states and territories or international programs.

The Herald had supported the need for an inquiry since the pandemic’s earliest days and, after tiring of Scott Morrison’s “empty posturing” on the issue, we became the loudest voice calling for a royal commission with the power and resources to make findings without fear or favour.

The Albanese government’s decision to hobble its own inquiry was bad and senseless policy. Ignoring the states where the pandemic played out, Canberra’s straitjacket did not permit the flexibility needed to get to the bottom of the inevitable bureaucratic fog and worship of process that stymie post-catastrophe inquests.

That said, we are pleased the national response report was tougher than expected, but believe it suffered from lacking the necessary scope. It remains to be seen whether the findings and recommendations will be acted upon.

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