COVID inquiry finds Australian government lost public trust by pushing draconian pandemic restrictions
By isabelle // 2024-12-03
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A COVID inquiry carried out by the Australian government revealed that the country's extreme restrictions during the pandemic and their general lack of transparency about the evidence that they used to support their decisions has caused a steep decline in public trust that could have negative repercussions that carry over into the next public health emergency. The report was issued by the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and it called out state premiers in the country for sowing confusion and distrust. One major point of contention was the draconian border closures that were often used by the Labor governments of places like Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia., although it did not name any premiers directly. The report says that the closures were irrational and damaging. Moreover, the fact that different states and territories used different approaches to their pandemic response added to public distrust. They noted that the contradictory explanations given for the decisions different leaders made caused the public to doubt them, particularly when it came to the state border closures. “Some differences were not easily explained, and no rationale was provided. This included the operation of state border closures that states enacted unilaterally and that lacked consistency and compassion in implementation,” the report states. They also warned that extreme vaccine mandates there have caused an “ongoing reluctance” for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and other illnesses. The panel of health experts who were called on for the inquiry cautioned that the erosion of trust the government caused through its lockdown responses will impact future health initiatives there and make existing problems in the federal and state health systems even worse.

Australia will have to work hard to regain public trust

The report’s summary pointed out that Australians generally trusted the government at the beginning of the pandemic and were largely willing to comply with all of the public health orders that were issued. However, this did not last, and they eventually started to lose trust after the government’s handling of the pandemic proved to be highly flawed. Transparency will be crucial in future pandemic responses, they say, after the government failed to consider or understand the impacts of their measures on the population socially, economically and mentally. The authors note: “The challenge before us is re-establishing and building trust in government responses prior to any future public health emergency. We cannot assume that the public will comply with similar restrictions in a future public health emergency.” The 860-page report offers 26 actions to take to improve preparations of future pandemics and other health emergencies, along with nine broader recommendations. Their suggestions include publishing the reasons supporting government decisions and increasing accountability to maintaining public trust. Not surprisingly, one of the biggest problems identified by the report was forcing people to comply with health directives and giving people the impression that they cannot question what the government is telling them to do. “It was the mandating of public health restrictions, especially vaccination, that had the biggest negative impact on trust. The combination of mandatory measures and the perception people had that they were unable to criticise or question government decisions and policies has contributed to non‑mandated vaccination rates falling to dangerously low levels,” the report noted. Sources for this article include: Brownstone.org TheAustralian.com.au
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