COVID is a real problem, but the government’s response is being driven by fear that is out of proportion to the actual risk. The policy of “zero COVID” was absurd, impossible, and hugely costly. The only sustainable solution is that Australia will need to learn how to live with COVID just as we live with the flu and other viruses. Ongoing government restrictions have created massive harms in terms of personal freedom, children’s education, struggling businesses & community groups, government debt, lost personal connections, loss of privacy, deteriorating health & happiness, mental health issues, and lives lost. This cannot continue. Australia needs some real leadership to show a clear path out of the current mess.
Immediate changes
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Open the schools, and keep them open. School closures have created far more harm than benefit, and schools should be reopened immediately.
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Never lockdown again. Lockdowns created more harm than benefit and should never have been introduced. Don’t think lockdowns are behind us simply because we are now in the warmer months. Parts of the Northern Hemisphere are locking down again now. We need the national strength to say: never again.
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Peaceful protests must be allowed. The right to protest is fundamental to a free society, and the police should work with protest organisers to ensure safe and peaceful events are able to go ahead.
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Vaccines should be available and voluntary. Mandatory vaccinations and domestic vaccine passports are incompatible with a free society and should never be tolerated. Private property owners should be able to set conditions of entry, but they should not be encouraged to discriminate by regulatory favours or government programs. Real vaccination choice also means open access to vaccines, free from unnecessary regulatory burdens.
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End the mask mandate. The use of some types of masks can be helpful in some circumstances, but they should not be forced on people by the government. Businesses should be allowed to set their own mask rules on their own property, but all remaining government mask rules should be removed, so that we return to the pre-COVID situation.
- Ensure Australians can get home. The government should never abandon Australians caught overseas who want to return home.
Real Freedom Day
After more than three years it is long past time for Australia to set a date for returning to the “old normal” with no COVID restrictions. We advocated for a date in December 2021 — as this has come and gone, we believe the following should now also occur immediately.
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Remove the border closures & travel restrictions. After Freedom Day there should be no restrictions on the movement between states, and no limits or quarantine requirements for international travel.
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Remove contact tracing and QR codes. The right to privacy is crucial in a free society and needs to be returned to the people as soon as possible.
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Remove social distancing & mandatory self-isolation. Private businesses and households are free to maintain their own rules, but all the government’s COVID regulations should be removed.
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Investigation of Australia’s COVID response. Once Australia has returned to “old normal” we should have a Royal Commission into our COVID response, including politicians, senior public servants and police.
- End the “emergency powers”. Government has operated with emergency powers for too long already. Those powers should not be renewed, and they should not be replaced by imitation legislation that gives similar powers.
