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When COVID case numbers were comparatively low in Australia, National Cabinet agreed on a plan to start lifting some restrictions when 70% of adults were vaccinated and more at 80%. These figures were based on modelling from the Doherty Institute.
But case numbers have been rising rapidly in NSW, with some premiers saying the plan wasn’t what they signed up for. The Doherty Institute modelling suggests deaths could reach up to 1,500 in six months, so agreeing to such a scenario is politically untenable for states with zero covid.
Stephen Duckett and Anika Stobart from the Grattan Institute argue Australia needs a revised national plan that all states can sign up to and isn’t full of caveats and conditions. This needs to include provisions to scale up contact tracing capacity, they say, and a plan to protect younger children who can’t yet be vaccinated.
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Fron Jackson-Webb
Deputy Editor/Senior Health + Medicine Editor
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Joel Carrett/AAP
Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute; Anika Stobart, Grattan Institute
Governments cannot keep making unrealistic promises about easing restrictions at 70% and 80% adult vaccination, a plan that relied on optimistic scenarios in the first place.
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Stringer/EPA/AAP
Greg Barton, Deakin University
The return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan sets the stage for a new era of terrorist growth in South-East Asia and around the world.
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Shutterstock
Katrina McLean, Bond University; Natasha Yates, Bond University
COVID infections are rising among children. Here’s how parents and schools can best protect kids right now.
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Shutterstock
Rebecca English, Queensland University of Technology; Karleen Gribble, Western Sydney University
One of the best things you can do to encourage your kids to mask up is to model wearing one. There are other things you can try too.
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Stone arrowheads (Maros points) and other flaked stone implements from the Toalean culture of South Sulawesi.
Shahna Britton/Andrew Thomson
Adam Brumm, Griffith University; Adhi Oktaviana, Griffith University; Akin Duli, Universitas Hasanuddin; Basran Burhan, Griffith University; Cosimo Posth, University of Tübingen; Selina Carlhoff, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
The first ancient human DNA from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi — and the wider Wallacea islands group — sheds light on the early human history of the region.
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Josh Bowell
Darcy Watchorn, Deakin University; Kita Ashman, Deakin University
This fluffy-eared marsupial was listed as ‘vulnerable’ under the national environment law in 2016. Five years later, it meets the criteria to be listed as ‘endangered’. Australia must do better.
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The Fountain Gate foxymorons with their partners and Kim’s second best friend at their movie premiere in 2012.
Paul Jeffers/AAP
Michelle Arrow, Macquarie University
Kath and Kim is being embraced by a new generation and this female-centered comedy series has much to say about Australian life.
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Business + Economy
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Ross Buckley, UNSW
At the core of changes already underway is that the customer not the bank will own their banking history. It’ll make switching easier, and it’s about to spread to other services.
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Kyla Raby, University of South Australia; Katherine Christ, University of South Australia
Australia’s Senate has voted to prohibit the import of goods made using forced labour. But without government support it won’t become law.
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Education
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Julie Sonnemann, Grattan Institute; Jordana Hunter, Grattan Institute
The national average in literacy and numeracy has been unaffected by 2020’s disruptions. But will have to wait until the full NAPLAN data is released to understand the affect on vulnerable students.
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Environment + Energy
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Willow Hallgren, Griffith University
Greenland’s melting ice sheets threaten to significantly hamper humanity’s efforts to mitigate climate change.
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Arts + Culture
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Julian Meyrick, Griffith University
In cult Danish TV series The Killing, detective Sarah Lund displays courage in the face of politicians sadly lacking it.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Michelle Grattan discusses the Doherty Modelling with director of the Doherty Institute Professor Sharon Lewin
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Denis Muller, The University of Melbourne
The maverick MP has made no bones about his plan to use Palmer’s considerable war chest to spread misinformation about COVID – and it’s in democracy’s interest that he be stopped.
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Anna Powles, Massey University
Afghanistan has been a gravy train for private security companies, but their local employees now find themselves in a dangerous no-man’s-land.
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Muhammad Nadeem Malik, The University of Melbourne
Pakistan covertly backed the Taliban in Afghanistan for years. But if the Taliban fail to ensure stability now, it could trigger another wave of refugees into Pakistan or more insurgent attacks.
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