Australia: A triumph of sorts

Essentially, Australia has had all the basic building blocks in place that have allowed it to cope well with a unique and pervasive problem like COVID-19. A predominately wealthy, educated population, with an advantageous geography, Australia had a few aces up its sleeve. Combine those with strict social distancing, large-scale testing and contract tracing and Australia was in a good position to flatten the COVID-19 curve. After a few early missteps, clarity of message has been paramount. And while by no means perfect, the formation of the National Cabinet has provided the guise of cohesion and collaboration between the states, territories and federal government, desperately needed by the country in a time of crisis. Personally, the pandemic provided the country’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, with a popularity boost, sorely needed. However, the Prime Minister’s political legacy will no doubt be shaped by how Australia contains the virus, and whether a functioning economy is maintained. But no matter what the future holds, it will be some time before the community will forget the extraordinary measures implemented to ensure the curve was flattened.