“A key element of rebuilding trust in government authority is to take the evidence, and communications on that evidence, out of the hands of politicians.” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.

How quickly forgotten is the pain, inconvenience and impact of the last pandemic. Do we have enough trust in Australian governments to deal with the next one?

This was the fundamental challenge of the government inquiry into the Australian response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the 877-page COVID-19 Response Inquiry Report (and the 67-page Summary Report) acknowledged many Australian successes, it identified a series of issues and actions that governments need to take immediately and in the longer term. 

The successes in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic include the relatively low rate of illness and death compared to other countries. On these most important measures, Australia fared well. However, there were also failures. 

Effective early distribution of vaccines is one example. Remember Scott Morrison’s statement about “it is not a race”. It was – against the exponential spread of the disease.

According to the report: “Pandemics are predicted to occur on average every 20 years – and the likelihood of us seeing another significant event is growing”.

The focus of the report is on nine major areas of action that are urgently needed to be considered by governments. They are: minimising harm, planning and preparedness, leadership, evidence and evaluation, agility, evidence, trust, equity, and communication.

Trust is the most significant of these. Early, high levels of trust in government authority, in science and in health advice was a casualty of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there are actions needed, a key element of rebuilding trust is to take the evidence, and communications on that evidence, out of the hands of politicians. 

The establishment of the Australian Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) will assist in providing arm’s-length advice for political decision makers. The politicians remain with the final responsibility of decision making. However, decisions will be public and transparent. For example, a recommendation of the ACDC may well be rejected by a minister on the basis of financial ramifications.

The recommendation of the report regarding the ACDC becoming trusted and authoritative is to give priority to a range of functions for systemic preparedness. Trusted and authoritative. The areas recommended include “risk assessment and communication, and a national repository of communicable disease data, evidence and advice”.

Trust is an important driver for any ACDC. The Australian Health Minister, Mark Butler, has already announced that the temporary departmental-based ACDC will be appropriately funded to expand and become an independent entity. There is room for expansion in the future. However, this decision marks an important first step in rebuilding confidence and trust in our Australian health system’s response to diseases.

A key plank of trust in difficult situations, such as an exponentially growing pandemic, is effective communication. The report identified a series of measures that are designed to improve strategies to reach people with evidence based information.

Communication strategies need to be “timely, transparent, empathetic and consistent” as well as being inclusive, addressing inequities, reflecting an evidence-based approach which embed ongoing evaluation practices to “ensure communication activities are effective, are appropriate, and are meeting the diverse needs of the Australian public”.

Agility was identified as one of the key framework elements of the report. The overwhelming thrust that will be a challenge for public services is to have “the ability to move quickly and respond in an uncertain and changing risk environment”. To do this, governments will need to “build, value and maintain capability, capacity and readiness across people, structures and systems”. 

This column has focused on the health issues of the report. However, as well as health, the report considered social and financial issues by applying the frameworks of trust, leadership, agility and communication. 

The authors have reached out to the community, accepting a wide range of submissions, listening to focus groups and conducting face-to-face inquiries. Robyn Kruk AO was the chair with members Prof Catherine Bennett and Dr Angela Jackson. The members provided an effective balance between economic, health and social issues.

Complacency is the greatest concern for the future. The report has provided a roadmap for preparing for the next pandemic. 

However, examining public health internationally, funding is still being reduced compared to acute care. There remains a long way to go. 

Dr Michael Moore PhD is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He is also a past president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations.