Rory Cross reporting in UNSW Newsroom.
The report examines three key areas – all with a particular focus on the events of the Delta wave, from June 2021 to November 2021, as the legacies resulting from the policing response are largely attributable to what happened in this period.
“The first area we analysed was the making, amending and remaking of orders relating to the Public Health Act 2010,” Prof. McNamara says.
There was what the report describes as “constant state of flux”: public health laws constantly changed. There were more than 120 principal orders and amendments made in a period of six months, and one Health Order was amended 13 times in two weeks.
Disadvantaged communities particularly affected
Prof. McNamara says the second area the team looked at was statistical data on COVID-19 public health order enforcement actions, with a focus on fines.
“We know that fines were not issued evenly across Sydney and NSW,” Prof. McNamara says.
“Residents in some of the most disadvantaged communities in the state, particularly children and highly populous Aboriginal communities, were targeted heavily.
Shifting media rhetoric
The third area of analysis in the report was media-reported comments by the NSW Government and NSW Police Force leaders on the policing of public health orders.
“We found discrepancies in media-reported public statements by NSW Government and NSW Police Force, demonstrating the lack of clarity in the public health messaging,” Prof. McNamara says.
The report shows how aggressive policing brought about a shift in the rhetoric used by political leaders, as a ‘zero tolerance’ and ‘ask questions later’ approach was adopted.
Recommendations
For future crises, Prof. McNamara recommends a multidisciplinary approach led by community and health organisations – not by police – to increase public health compliance.
Days before the UNSW report landed in November 2022, Revenue NSW cancelled more than 33,000 COVID-19 penalty notices – equivalent to $30 million in fines that would be overturned and wiped.
“The biggest lesson we can learn is that we should be very careful about imposing big fines as a mechanism of registering a need for compliance in the community. Fines are not simple and it’s not just a slap on the wrist.”
Read the full article here (March 14, 2023).
