November
RBA underestimating risk of recession
Readers’ letters on interest rates; Future Fund investments; a fix for capital gains tax; the response to COVID-19; the influence of founders; data-driven investing; and the ghosts of Christmases past.
October
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Don’t suppress democracy in a pandemic
Not even a public health crisis should justify suppression of the normal rules of democratic debate about government actions and policy alternatives.
- The AFR View
Don’t blame HomeBuilder for inflation: economists
The Coalition and economists have rejected the pandemic inquiry’s criticisms of the $2.6 billion housing construction stimulus.
- John Kehoe and Michael Bleby
- Opinion
- COVID inquiry
The danger of COVID zealots has not passed
The proposed new Australian Centre for Disease Control is open to the same ideological capture that plagued its US counterpart.
- Nick Coatsworth
Heavy-handed COVID restrictions have destroyed trust in government
Many of the measures taken during COVID‑19 are unlikely to be accepted by the population again, due to the lack of trust created by the heavy-handed response.
- Updated
- Phillip Coorey and Tom McIlroy
US-style CDC to co-ordinate response, combat fake news
A new agency will be charged with preparing against infectious disease, after a review found a lack of real-time data reduced trusts in pandemic restrictions.
- Tom Burton
Pandemic HomeBuilder response fuelled inflation and housing shortage
Most of the $2.6 billion stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic was spent on renovations, not building new homes, an inquiry has found.
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- Opinion
Overall, Australia’s COVID management was a huge success
Where we succeeded, it was the result of good institutions and good decision-making. But that’s not to say we didn’t stumble.
- Steven Hamilton and Richard Holden
- Opinion
- Opinion
Inquiry whitewashes the colossal mismanagement
The authors of the report are oblivious to the most fundamental big-picture cracks in our institutions revealed by the country’s Covid-19 response.
- Gigi Foster
- Analysis
- COVID inquiry
We should never see such an old-school pandemic response again
At the next pandemic, Australia should focus on key risk groups and be driven by reliable official public data.
- Tom Burton
RBA concedes $188b in cheap loans may have gone too far
The losses on the loans forced the RBA to suspend paying multibillion-dollar annual dividends to the government and plunged its balance sheet into negative equity.
- Michael Read and John Kehoe
- Exclusive
- Vocational training
Taxpayers paid McDonald’s $72m to train its staff
McDonald’s Australia and its franchisees were the biggest beneficiaries of the Coalition’s $5.8 billion trainee and apprenticeship wage subsidy, documents show.
- Ronald Mizen
September
Australia’s new pandemic playbook
On the eve of the release of the national COVID-19 review, 10 key actions have emerged for when a similar pathogen hits Australia.
- Tom Burton
Infection super agency to lead future pandemic response
A new Australian Centre for Disease Control will get powers to manage any future pandemic, under the national COVID-19 review due to be handed to government.
- Tom Burton
How Australia crushed the COVID curve and lost the race
This country had one of the best-designed economic responses in the world, and one of the worst vaccine procurement processes.
- Richard Holden and Steven Hamilton
Teenagers’ brains aged rapidly during pandemic: study
Girls were much more affected, the US study found. Thinning of the cortex accelerates in stressful conditions and is linked with depression and anxiety.
- Ellen Barry
August
US universities brace for next round of Gaza protests as students return
Institutions including New York University have resolved to enforce sanctions on students judged in violation of their codes of conduct during disruptive demonstrations.
- Andrew Jack
- Industry Engagement
- Higher Education Awards
La Trobe’s pioneering model to transform healthcare
The winner of the industry engagement award used COVID and a pinch of serendipity to create a world-leading virtual medical emergency model in Melbourne.
- Sylvia Ramsey
- Analysis
- Higher Education Awards
Winning strategy: A virtual lifeline for emergency departments
Comment provided by the winner of the Industry Engagement award, La Trobe University.
- James Boyd
How geopolitical tension is changing ANZ and its clients
Geopolitical risk is hitting boardrooms with a bang, with ANZ the first of the big four banks to create a specialised unit.
- Patrick Durkin
