ABSTRACT
Within a few weeks of its first COVID-19 case, Australia closed its borders to China, slowing the arrival of the pandemic into the country and giving it a 4-to-6-week benefit in terms of reduced infections. The border closure eventually extended to all countries. Returning citizens had to spend two weeks in quarantine. Within Australia, states closed their borders against each other, and within one state, Victoria, there was an internal border separating the capital, Melbourne, from the rest of the state. In Melbourne, people were subject to stringent lockdowns. These restrictions on freedom of movement and association saved about 18,000 lives over the two years 2020–2021. The management of the pandemic in Australia was essentially an issue of risk management: What were the risks of stringent lockdowns, what were the likely consequences, and what were the risks and consequences of no lockdowns? This chapter analyzes Australia’s management of the pandemic, including the challenges to the public health measures—both political and legal.
