Andrew Markus

Inserted 3 years ago

“Australia was not in such a bad position prior to the pandemic when you compare Australia with England and the United States. Both of those societies were seriously fractured prior to the pandemic. Brexit sharply divided England, as did Donald Trump in the United States. There have been times when Australia has been much more fractious – under the leadership of Tony Abbott as opposed to the leadership of Scott Morrison, and I think Anthony Albanese can struggle to position himself but he is basically a consensus figure. This made it possible for Australia to respond to the pandemic quickly and in a cohesive way. To me this is the key point: we possibly undervalue the good things about Australia and how Australians will respond in a crisis. This, for me, is a really big takeaway and it’s important because it is probably not acknowledged. What we get in the media is the cut and thrust of politics rather than the long-term fundamental understanding of what works in Australia and what doesn’t work.”

Theguardian

Social scientist, researcher