COVID-19 restrictions led to calls to open up golf courses to the public. But these are such precious refuges for native flora and fauna that access will have to be carefully managed.
Victoria’s lockdown has been hard, but it now occupies a rare and envious position. As Victorians await new freedoms on the next step towards COVID-normal, they should feel a sense of accomplishment.
The Morrison government and business have reacted angrily to Daniel Andrews’ “cautious pause” on announcing the easing of COVID restrictions in Melbourne.
Melbourne could be out of lockdown within a week, if COVID-19 case numbers continue their current trend. But blanket rules such as the new 25km travel radius risk unnecessarily burdening the public.
The differences in sentiment in areas of high and low neighbourhood amenity have been clear under Melbourne's tough COVID restrictions. It's further evidence of the impacts of inequity on well-being.
All parks are not equal. The response to the opening of golf courses to the public during the COVID pandemic shows the quality of green open space is a big issue for city residents.
University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Assistant Professor Caroline Fisher discuss the week in politics.
While the focus has been on containing 'hot spots' of COVID-19 outbreaks, understanding why some areas have few or no cases could point the way to a staged reopening that starts with these areas.
The failure to anticipate the consequence of workers having no paid sick leave is one of the greatest flaws in Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Putting all of Victoria under stage 4 restrictions would give the state its best chance of stopping community transmission, rather than setting it up to play an endless game of COVID-19 whack-a-mole.