lockdown

5 April 2022

The Institute of Public Affairs has published a new report by Sydney-based psychiatrist and author Dr Tanveer Ahmed entitled Self-reliance, Youth and the Task of Character. All human beings need meaning and purpose in one form or another to strive forward in life. It is central to who we are – psychologically, socially, and physically – for us to believe that

16 March 2022

In the first few months of 2020, fear regarding the new Covid-19 virus was palpable, and understandable. Educated citizens of many democratic nations around the world faced draconian government-issued restrictions on human movement, personal behaviour, and business operations. But, as the months went by and evidence accumulated that contraindicated population-wide restrictions, the continued willingness of individuals to accept them –

17 February 2022

‘Worse than lockdown’ is a headline that has been used far too often in the media recently. That’s right, while most families have been locked up for the better part of two years, there are actual people who believe that the pain inflicted by the Omicron wave resulted in a worse situation than the hellscape that was Victoria’s lockdowns. The Western

31 March 2021

Brisbane has been plunged into another snap lockdown after COVID-19 slipped into the community through an inexplicably unvaccinated doctor and nurse. Australia’s borders remain closed and tens of thousands are trapped overseas. Winter, with a higher transmission risk, is coming. Australia is stuck in COVID purgatory: lockdowns and domestic border closures at any moment, lives and livelihoods at risk, and

6 March 2021

New research released today by free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs has found that the bottom fifth of income earners saw over half a million jobs disappear because of lockdowns, while the top fifth of income earners saw jobs increase by nearly 200,000. “Low-income earners, private sector workers, and young Australians, have been disproportionately affected while public

26 February 2021

It’s true the coronavirus has made the job of being in opposition difficult. It’s understandable at times of crisis the public want stability and unity, not criticism and division. What’s less understandable is the parochialism and at times mean-spiritedness the crisis has provoked – which many premiers, with the notable exception of Gladys Berejiklian, have manipulated. The coronavirus and border

17 February 2021

It must be tempting, from overseas, to see Australia as the country that defeated Covid-19. A land where the suffering of 2020 was worth it, allowing Australians to be free of the restrictions crippling Britain. Wrong. There has been no victory, and the fear of lockdown permanently hangs over our heads. For Victorians, it is no longer a threat. The entire

16 February 2021

Last week Victoria RSL chief executive Jamie Twidale announced this year the traditional Anzac Day march in Melbourne in April will cancelled because the restrictions put in place by the Daniel Andrews government make it too difficult to organise a public event. He added it simply wasn’t in the public’s best interest to go ahead with the march. Meanwhile, over

15 February 2021

This feature article was adapted from an earlier version published in the Summer 20/21 edition of the IPA Review, here. COVID-19 has been a dramatic test of governments across the globe. A once-in-a-century plague descended more or less simultaneously, challenging the ability of states to protect their citizens. Success has been mixed: Britain has had over 35 times more deaths

13 February 2021

As long as the federal government is awarding Australia Day honours on the basis of individual sporting prowess then Australian legend Margaret Court deserves our highest award. And her public expressions of Christian beliefs should not be a disqualifying factor—no matter what Australia’s most anti-religious premier has to say about it. Perhaps Court should have been given an honour for