Scott Morrison appearing unruffled at a podium isn't enough to bring calm to a crisis | Katharine Murphy

Reassuring people in the middle of a pandemic is all about instilling confidence in the government's strategies

Scott Morrison made two interesting observations this week that didn't get much attention in the melee.

The first involved Australia's relationship with China and the US. About a month ago, I wrote a column pointing to the prime minister's careful efforts to articulate a more independent posture on defence in an era when the two great powers of the century are unreliable.