Covid-19

In their new paper ‘In a new world, new thinking is required’, Hon Sir Roger Douglas and Professor Robert MacCulloch argue the prioritisation of resources is crucial to New Zealand’s economic recovery in the wake of Covid-19. They argue that New Zealand can either “muddle through as we are – relying on policies that haven’t worked since the 1950s and …

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra After the COVID crisis, what will be the “new normal” in Australia’s relations with China? The short answer is, probably both worse and more complicated than pre-COVID. This week has seen a fresh low point, with the Chinese government threatening economic retribution in response to the Morrison government’s call for an independent international inquiry into …

Hassan Vally, La Trobe University To understand the spread of COVID-19, the pandemic is more usefully viewed as a series of distinct local epidemics. The way the virus has spread in different countries, and even in particular states or regions within them, has been quite varied. A New Zealand study has mapped the coronavirus epidemic curve for 25 countries and …

Infrastructure NZ’s Paul Blair tells Tim McCready that infrastructure investment and construction will play a major role in New Zealand’s economic recovery programme – but central and local government collaboration is required to make it happen. Infrastructure NZ – New Zealand’s peak infrastructure body representing 140 public and private sector industry members – says the Government’s response for the infrastructure …

Tony Walker, La Trobe University Australia’s relationship with China is fractured. Arguably, this is the worst moment in Sino-Australian relations since Gough Whitlam normalised ties on his election in December 1972. The Chinese saying “kill the chicken to frighten the monkey” would seem applicable in Beijing’s reaction to Australia’s push for an investigation into the operations of the World Health …

As the human and economic cost of the COVID-19 epidemic continues to reveal itself across the globe, in some quarters the blame game has already begun. Liam Finnigan suggests now is not the time to beat any drum demanding China take responsibility for the pandemic.  In what initially appeared to be a casual interview on TV3’s  AM Show, the US …

Chris Tyler, UCL and Peter Gluckman Most people think or at least hope their government is doing a good job in the face of COVID-19, according to the polls. But there can be no doubt that governments around the world were ill-prepared for this pandemic. Country after country has been locking their citizens in their homes to slow the spread …

Stefan Volk, University of Sydney As governments look to ease general social-distancing measures and instead use more targeted strategies to stop coronavirus transmission, we face a social dilemma about the limits of cooperative behaviour. Consider the controversy over contact-tracing phone apps, which can help authorities identify people with whom someone diagnosed with COVID-19 has recently come into close contact. Oxford …

Tim McCready looks at some of the innovation emerging from New Zealand businesses in the face of adversity. Let us know what has been missed – from New Zealand and around the world. Restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 lockdown have caused some businesses to consider closing up shop for good. While some have taken this route, others have used the …

Meru Sheel, Australian National University; Charlee J Law, Australian National University, and Danielle Ingle, Australian National University Recent headlines have suggested COVID-19 can spread up to four metres, drawing into question the current advice to maintain 1.5 metres between people to prevent the spread of the virus. The news was based on a study conducted in Wuhan, China, and published …