Returning to the Scone Writers' Festival in March 2020, we were particularly looking forward to hearing an 'in-conversation' session with National Living Treasures Barry Jones and Phillip Adams - a local. A particular highlight of this festival is the bush poet's barbecue breakfast - a great social event full of humour and laughter.
But a dramatic change occurred when we arrived in rural Scone that year. There was no socialising, and we were in sessions with socially distanced seating for the first time. COVID had arrived, and for the following two and a half years, all Australians and the rest of the world have had their health threatened and experienced widespread disruptions.
Across the world, governments scrambled to develop new health and economic policies to counter this massive new threat to our lives and way of life. But, unfortunately, these have had mixed success, as new variants have created a succession of COVID waves throughout the community.
The rapid arrival of vaccines, and the effectiveness of medical science breakthroughs to counter new variants, has led to a gradual return to a "new normal" after the best part of three years as Australians struggled to live with ongoing COVID.
Following a unanimous decision of the national cabinet, the Prime Minister said that on October 14, 2022, the last of the COVID-induced restrictions on the community would be lifted, except for high-risk sectors such as aged care, disability care, indigenous care, and hospitals. Workers in these sectors would continue to receive support payments.
From this week, COVID would be treated like any other infectious disease, such as the flu. The Prime Minister said with a touch of hyperbole: "it was not the role of government to run every bit of people's lives forever," and concluded, "government have a responsibility to listen to health advice, but we also have a responsibility to make decisions which are proportionate."
That is a significant change to the health policy during past COVID waves. Throughout this pandemic, when governments have removed our civil liberties, it has been done with the support of medical science. Ministers were careful to quote expert medical advice before imposing another measure on the community.
The announced end of COVID restrictions has been based on the sole advice of Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly: "it is time to move away from COVID exceptionalism," he said, adding that his advice was based on: "a drop in cases, low rates of intensive care admissions, high vaccination rates, and very high hybrid immunity from previous infections."
So, this week, Australia's approach to COVID will come into line with several European countries, including the United Kingdom, who have already lifted restrictions.
Before the national cabinet meeting that made this unanimous decision, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet emphasised the importance at this time of taking personal responsibility rather than government directives.
"The nation needs to get to a point where if you are sick you stay at home, and if you are not sick you get out and about and enjoy life," he urged.
Not all Australian experts agree with this "normalisation" of COVID. Yet, curiously, Dr Kelly's state counterparts on the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee had not been consulted about this critical national health policy decision.
Brett Sutton, Victoria's Chief Medical Officer, disagreed with the lifting of COVID measures and said so publicly.
"Sleepwalking into COVID is not a strategy that I would recommend. Still much remains uncertain," he said.
Other medical experts also criticised the move, such as AMA President Steve Robson: "Scrapping the mandatory isolation for people who have COVID has the potential to unleash another wave," he claimed.
Perhaps the timing of the final removal of high COVID costs from the forward estimates on the eve of the new federal government's first budget has less to do with medical science and more to do with reining in skyrocketing government debt.
It would be refreshing if the politicians were more upfront about the reasons for their decision. This needs to come with a warning of the risks to our health.
Also essential is educating us all about personal counter-strategies to COVID when the final restrictions are lifted.
Although there is still protection for people in aged-care facilities, what about the rest of our senior citizens out in the community?
So far, I have followed the health advice, including four jabs, and survived the pandemic without catching COVID.
But how long will my good fortune, and that of others in my age group, hold during the "new normal?"
Newcastle East's Dr John Tierney AM is a former Hunter-based Liberal federal senator
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