What has the COVID pandemic taught us about Australians generally and our governments in particular? Let’s start by considering the question of trust, says Frank Bongiorno: on many indicators, Australians’ trust in their governments, state and federal, has climbed during the COVID crisis. So we can assume that, despite the grumbling about various things, Australians are relatively happy with the way the pandemic has been handled.

This is not to say the approach has been flawless. The decision-making has at times been negligent, even callous, where minorities are concerned. And while Australians like to think of themselves as egalitarian, the pandemic has highlighted that, just like in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, some are more equal than others.

But what it has shown above all, Bongiorno writes, is the Australian people’s discipline: their willingness to do what is necessary to bring the virus under control. So despite the inevitable uglinesses that have occasionally raised their heads, “the existence of this surprisingly wide and deep well of social discipline is by far the most important thing that we’ve learned about Australians in the age of COVID”.

Amanda Dunn

Section Editor: Politics + Society

AAP/James Ross

How the pandemic has brought out the worst — and the best — in Australians and their governments

Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University

The federal government has had a patchy pandemic, to say the least. But COVID has also highlighted remarkable social discipline in the Australian people.

We can learn from how the Howard Springs quarantine facility in the Northern Territory works when planning Victoria’s new hub. Glenn Campbell/AAP Image

This is how we should build and staff Victoria’s new quarantine facility, say two infection control experts

Philip Russo, Monash University; Brett Mitchell, University of Newcastle

We have the chance to build a world-class, dedicated quarantine facility. Here's how we could do it.

Cardinal George Pell preparing to make a statement at the Vatican in 2017. Gregoria Borgia/AP/AAP

Why have media outlets been fined more than $1 million for their Pell reporting?

Rick Sarre, University of South Australia

There is a clear legal reason why publications including The Age and news.com.au have copped hefty penalties.

Luis Ascui/AAP

Why are some COVID test results false positives, and how common are they?

Adrian Esterman, University of South Australia

We've learnt two cases linked to Melbourne's COVID outbreak were in fact 'false positives'. Here's what that means, why it can happen, and how common it is.

Shutterstock

The mystery of ‘long COVID’: up to 1 in 3 people who catch the virus suffer for months. Here’s what we know so far

Vanessa Bryant, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute; Alex Holmes, The University of Melbourne; Louis Irving, The University of Melbourne

While we don't know exactly what causes it yet, there are a few leading theories put forward by researchers around the world.

Shutterstock

NASA is returning to Venus, where surface temperatures are 470°C. Will we find life when we get there?

Gail Iles, RMIT University

Venus wouldn't attract much attention if it were outside our solar system. Its skies are filled with sulphuric acid, its land abounds with extinct volcanoes and its surface is mostly red hot lava.

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