Australia Already Prepared to Deal With a Future Pandemic: Inquiry Chair

The federal government’s COVID-19 response inquiry is making progress, but is still lacking input from some segments of the community, according to its chairperson Robyn Kruk. Ms. Kruk noted an “incredibly good response” to earlier calls for public submissions, but there were certain groups whose stories had yet to be told. These included older people, those living in rural and remote areas, people with a disability, and First Nations communities. She emphasised the importance of ensuring their voices are heard, describing it as “a massive but essential task.” To engage these groups, the inquiry plans to conduct more detailed focus group discussions in addition to a series of stakeholder roundtable meetings, which are scheduled to take place soon....