Long Covid: bill hits $577bn but vaccines tossed in the bin

Almost $580bn in Covid spending by governments locked-in a faster recovery that helped secure Jim Chalmers’ $22.1bn surplus, as figures reveal vaccine wastage hit 35.4pc.

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg with Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy in 2020. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire

An eye-watering $577bn in Covid-19 government spending secured a faster post-pandemic economic recovery that helped Jim Chalmers bank a $22.1bn surplus, but Health Department figures reveal more than 35 per cent of vaccines were being tossed out as of January due to oversupply.

In its submission to the Albanese government’s Covid-19 inquiry, Treasury said Australia’s post-pandemic economic recovery was “stronger than expected and more rapid than many other advanced economies”.

The cost of shielding jobs and ensuring a faster recovery was $343bn in commonwealth spending on direct economic and health measures and $234bn in state and territory spending, which combined totalled a mammoth 28.6 per cent of GDP.

JobKeeper, Australia’s largest labour market intervention and costed at $130bn over six months to provide fortnightly wage subsidies for four million workers, was extended twice and prevented the loss of up to 800,000 jobs.

The Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet has published almost 2100 submissions to the Covid-19 inquiry from federal ­departments, state governments, health, social and community ­organisations, companies, industry groups and individuals.

While Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay took aim at some of the “most significant restrictions of our human rights ever imposed during peacetime”, Services ­Australia warned repayment freezes during the pandemic had created a backlog of potential debts that was now “older and more complex”.

The Department of Home ­Affairs also pushed the government for improved pandemic readiness and noted that, at times, there was only space in quarantine for about 3000 arrivals into the country per week despite there being 1.5 million visa holders offshore.

The Victorian Labor government, which oversaw the most draconian lockdowns and restrictions in the country, has not had a submission published, but Western Australia, Queensland and other states used theirs to take aim at the commonwealth’s pandemic management.

The Health Department submission revealed that wastage rates for Covid-19 vaccines had exploded to more than 35 per cent as of January. While wastage rates were as low as 0.72 in June 2021, the drop in demand for vaccines had resulted in Australia having an oversupply.

The department revealed 166 infringement notices were issued during the pandemic for false and misleading advertising around the vaccines. It also said the ­CovidSafe tracing app faced “many challenges” and was perceived as “burdensome for public health staff who undertook contract tracing”.

A domestic vaccination site is yet to be launched, despite having been announced in March 2022 as part of a strategic partnership with Moderna. The Health ­Department said construction of the facility was underway and the mRNA respiratory vaccines were set to be available from the Melbourne facility in approximately August 2025.

Treasury, which was led during the pandemic by current secretary Steven Kennedy, claims credit for big-spending economic measures and a two-phase economic and fiscal strategy that locked in a swifter jobs and debt recovery trajectory. “Australia’s economic recovery from the ­pandemic was stronger than expected and more rapid than many other advanced economies, in part reflecting less severe health impacts of the pandemic compared with other countries,” Treasury’s submission said.

“The Australian government recorded a surplus of $22.1bn (in 2022-23), or around 0.9 per cent of GDP … Australia returned to surplus ahead of all major advanced economies.”

A Department of Social Services submission said pandemic-era relaxation of income support payments ensured money got out the door faster but removed integrity checks, which “contributed to a decline in the accuracy of payments made”.

DSS also noted that the existence of new payments, for example the pandemic leave disaster payment and JobKeeper, created “confusion around payment eligibility and reporting requirements for claimants and recipients”.

In her submission, Ms Finlay was critical of the infringement of human rights caused by lockdowns, border shutdowns and other restrictions including school closures. The AHRC received 2662 complaints related to Covid-19. “There have … been significant social and community impacts resulting from Australians being required to endure some of the most significant restrictions of our human rights ever imposed during peacetime,” Ms Finlay said.

She said the commonwealth decision to introduce fines and jail time for anyone flying into Australia from certain countries was “an extraordinary step” that criminalised citizens seeking to return home. “The emergency determination (meant) that any person caught entering Australia from India faced five years imprisonment and/or a $66,000 fine,” Ms Finlay’s submission said.

“This effectively left 9000 Australian citizens stranded in India, and is the first time that Australia has taken the extraordinary step of criminalising its own citizens for returning home.”

AstraZeneca made four recommendations to the inquiry including allowing pharmaceutical companies to respond publicly to concerns about vaccines, establishing a National Medical Manufacturing Taskforce and ongoing monitoring of Covid mutations and variants.

Pfizer’s submission said the probability of a pandemic with similar impact to Covid was about 2 per cent in any given year meaning “someone born in the year 2000 would have a 38 per cent likelihood of having already experienced a pandemic by 2023”.

“In order to improve Australia’s response to the next pandemic it will require proactive planning and broader, earlier availability of vaccines and treatments. The time for action is during non-pandemic times, enabling a more effective response in an emergency,” Pfizer said.

The West Australian government led by Roger Cook, who as health minister alongside Mark McGowan ordered some of the most extreme Covid measures, attacked the Morrison government for giving preferential treatment on vaccines to other jurisdictions.

The Queensland government, led by former health minister Steven Miles who also imposed tough restrictions with Annastacia Palaszczuk, demanded “more timely information” from the commonwealth during future pandemic events.

Anthony Albanese came under fire last year after announcing a Covid-19 inquiry into the commonwealth pandemic response, which gave states and territories a free pass for draconian lockdowns and restrictions that crippled the economy and pushed health systems to the brink.

The independent panel overseeing the 12-month inquiry includes chair and retired public service boss Robyn Kruk, epidemiologist Catherine Bennett and economist Angela Jackson. Ms Jackson, a former deputy chief-of-staff to Labor finance minister Lindsay Tanner, posted a series of tweets in 2020 and 2021 endorsing lockdowns and mask-wearing.

While border closures gave the country time to boost health systems and access vaccines, the Department of Home Affairs acknowledged issues around quarantine arrangements. The department has made 13 recommendations, including legislative changes, to the Covid inquiry panel to improve Australia’s readiness for future pandemics.