Grattan Institute

After COVID-19, Australia’s health system looks nothing like the health system of six months ago. All aspects of the system – primary care, mental health, and alcohol and other drug services – have embraced new ways of working because of spatial distancing. Health professionals took on new roles, services pivoted from waiting for people to make appointments to reaching out to patients, and many face-to-face consultations were replaced with phone or video consultations. Read our latest health report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/coming-out-of-covid/

Australia should launch a $1 billion, six-month tutoring blitz to help 1 million disadvantaged school students recover learning lost during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Governments should send a battalion of 100,000 tutors into schools between now and Christmas to conduct intensive small-group sessions on reading and maths. Many disadvantaged students – those from the poorest 25 per cent of families and rural areas – will have fallen further behind their classmates during the COVID-19 school closures. Listen to Julie Sonnemann, School Education Fellow, in discussion with Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, about how to help disadvantaged students recover lost learning. For more information or to read the report in discussion, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/report/covid-catch-up/

Australia should dump the decades-old dream of building a bullet train from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra, and we should be wary of expensive promises to upgrade regional rail to ease population pressures on our major capitals and boost struggling regional cities and towns. Listen to Greg Moran, Senior Associate, and Tom Crowley, Associate, discuss the latest Grattan Report, Fast train fever: Why renovated rail might work but bullet trains won’t. Hosted by Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications. You can read the report in discussion here: https://grattan.edu.au/report/fast-train-fever/

There's no doubt that COVID-19 has changed our lives forever. After two months of hibernation in Australia, states are slowly beginning to loosen restrictions. We've heard the term the 'new normal' over and over again. But what does the new normal look like? In this Grattan Institute podcast, Dr Hal Swerissen, Visiting Fellow, discusses what life looks like after lockdown with Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications. You can read the articles mentioned in the podcast here: The New Normal: How we'll live with COVID-19: https://grattan.edu.au/news/the-new-normal-how-well-live-with-covid-19/ New data shows Australians embrace physical distancing: https://grattan.edu.au/news/new-data-shows-australians-embrace-physical-distancing/

Investing in ‘green’ steel could create 25,000 local manufacturing jobs, a multi-billion-dollar industry and cut emissions in Australia. It’s a win-win-win. Listen to Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, Guy Dundas, Fellow, and Paul Austin, Editor, discuss Grattan Institute’s latest report, Start with steel: A practical plan to support carbon workers and cut emissions. To read the report in discussion on the podcast, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/report/start-with-steel/

Australia has done better than most countries in limiting the spread of COVID-19. The health crisis is not over, but attention is now turning to the ‘road out’ of the economic shutdown. There are lots of uncertainties. What are the costs of relaxing too late – or too early? Should schools be reopened, and under what conditions? What parts of the economy should be taken out of lockdown, in what order, and with what changes? How much should we prioritise restoring social activities? Well before governments imposed restrictions, many people started spatial distancing. Irrespective of what governments permit, recovery depends on whether individuals choose to go back to work and to resume social activities. As with the COVIDsafe app, much depends on whether governments can win back public trust. In this Grattan Webinar recording, a panel of policy experts provided perspective on these questions, and nominate Australia’s best strategy from here. Featuring John Daley, Marion Terrill, Stephen Duckett, Brendan Coates and Paul Austin.

Between 14 and 26 per cent of Australian workers could be out of work as a direct result of the coronavirus shutdown, and the crisis will have an enduring impact on jobs and the economy for years to come. Listen to Brendan Coates, Grattan's Household Finances Program Director, in discussion with Matt Cowgill, Senior Associate, and Paul Austin, Editor, about the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown and what policies could help support Australians through the crisis. You can read the working paper in discussion on our website: https://grattan.edu.au/report/shutdown-estimating-the-covid-19-employment-shock/

The COVID-19 crisis is having an impact on every aspect of our lives: our health and wellbeing, our jobs and recreations, our personal finances and relationships, our children’s education and prospects. Governments have rarely been under such stress as they seek to balance protecting public health with ensuring economic survival. How can we recover from the loss of lives, livelihoods, and our very way of life? What sort of society will we be left with when the crisis is over? In this Grattan Webinar, a panel of policy experts provided their perspectives on the health, social, and economic impacts of COVID-19. Speakers: John Daley Danielle Wood Brendan Coates Stephen Duckett Moderator Paul Austin

Will our children be able to cope during this stressful time? Will they be able to learn if they are forced to do online schooling for weeks, months, or even the rest of the year? Listen to informed analysis and advice from our Education Fellow, Julie Sonnemann. With host Paul Austin. To read the article discussed in the podcast, visit our website: https://grattan.edu.au/news/disadvantaged-students-will-be-hit-hardest-by-the-enforced-move-to-online-schooling/

Coronavirus is the biggest crisis of our generation. Australians are fearful. The elderly are vulnerable. People are dying. Recession is almost certain. Businesses and borders are closing. Governments must balance protecting public health with ensuring economic survival. How can they minimise the impacts of COVID-19 on Australia? And how do we protect the most vulnerable in our community? In this webinar, a panel of policy experts from the Grattan Institute provided measured, informed, evidence-based perspective on the economic, budgetary and health impacts of COVID-19. Grattan Institute Speakers John Daley, CEO Danielle Wood, Program Director, Budget Policy and Institutional Reform Stephen Duckett, Program Director, Health Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances Paul Austin, Editor