For a while, Australia was the envy of the world. Elsewhere, people were dying of COVID-19 in the millions and hospitals were overrun. Meanwhile, by the end of 2020, Australia had eliminated community transmission of the virus and its people enjoyed relative safety and freedom.

That short-lived freedom was hard-won. Border closures, quarantine, lockdowns, mandated masks, and social-distancing measures worked. This was only possible because of unprecedented expansion of income support, moratoriums on eviction, and improved entitlements for casual workers. The advocacy of unions and civil-society organizations helped win these essential measures.

Although Australian governments did not explicitly make eliminating the virus a goal, elimination was all but achieved. As a result, the period from October 2020 to June 2021 was a short-lived reprieve during which we returned to a semblance of normality. When there were outbreaks, state governments controlled them with snap lockdowns and contact tracing.