Australia failed to rescue citizens during the global Covid emergency – we can’t let it happen again | Trent Zimmerman

Many Australians living overseas wanted or needed to return - yet we made it impossibly difficult for tens of thousands of people

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The release this week of a review into Australia's Covid response has attracted wide attention for its headline recommendations at a time when Covid-19 now rarely reaches our front pages.

The Fault Lines review, led by former public servant Peter Shergold, is critical of the extent of restrictions, border closures and lockdowns put in place by state and federal governments - particularly so in relation to extended school closures. It raises concern about those parts of our society either disproportionately affected by Covid itself or the levels of support provided by government.