Citizens and residents now returning to Australia will find themselves, after clearing the vacant halls and PPE-clad checkpoints of its airport terminals, served with a formal detention notice and greeted with a convoy of police escorts. An armed officer may explain to them that under the current state of emergency, they are obliged to complete a fortnight of quarantine “detention” in a government-designated hotel — or be penalized with up to $50,000 or a year behind bars. Having entered, they cannot leave the country unless permitted to do so on exceptional legal grounds.

What may appear to be a revival of the penal colony of old is in fact the light end of a COVID-19 border “protection” policy that in 2020 saw Australia seal its frontiers against all but citizens and permanent residents and enforce a ban on departing the country. Australia stands alone among democratic nations in imposing such a restriction. The extremity and duration of its border closure — which shows no signs of easing before mid-2022 — have paid off, as Australia has weathered the pandemic with a death toll still in the hundreds.

In contrast to the “business as usual” approach of the leaders in the UK and United States, Australia’s policy on COVID-19 — comprehensive lockdowns in Victoria last year coupled with widespread testing and relatively generous wage subsidy programs — has been humane and effective. But success at home has meant ultra-hard borders, sometimes in worrying ways.