Australia: Call for Royal Commission Over COVID Response

Australia: Call for Royal Commission Over COVID Response
Photo: Steve Christo/Contributor/Corbis News via Getty Images

The Facts

  • Australia's Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee has recommended the creation of a royal commission into the country's handling of the COVID pandemic.

  • Published on April 19, the report claims there's "overwhelming" support for a royal commission. Just three of 559 committee submissions didn't support its establishment.


The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

Australia's government continues to break its promise of providing its people the COVID inquiry they deserve. Australia's current shallow investigation, led by political appointees, isn't reliable. The country's elite continues to shy away from providing real answers about their decision-making during the pandemic.

Pro-establishment narrative

A royal commission would be reliant on the cooperation of all states and territories to achieve meaningful results, and would by no means guarantee valuable information. Regardless of format, Australia's inquiry must encourage honest reflection for the process to be of any value.

Nerd narrative

There's a 50% chance the WHO will announce the COVID-19 pandemic has ended by April 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


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