A few weeks ago I observed that it took the NRL Grand Final for the Queensland Government to adopt a more rational approach to the pandemic, and now, thankfully, there are further signs of rationality from the Government, with the Courier-Mail reporting:

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, in a strong signal the state’s border with NSW could open within weeks, has also put the impetus on Queenslanders to get the Covid-19 jab saying “we cannot protect you if you won’t protect yourself”.

That’s good news. While some commentators have rationalised border restrictions as acceptable if they mean our politicians don’t impose lockdowns which bring huge economic costs, I think those commentators ignore a) that we probably shouldn’t lockdown even if COVID is spreading and b) the large human costs and the immorality, indeed cruelty, of those border restrictions. Queensland’s economy has no doubt been performing much better than the lockdown-afflicted NSW and Victorian economies, but thousands of Queenslanders have endured immense suffering because of the border restrictions, and interstate-tourism-reliant businesses have been severely financially stressed. For more of my thoughts on the economic impacts of pandemic policies and on the economic outlook, check out my interview with Damian Coory on his The Other Side YouTube/Facebook show:

Finally, if you haven’t read it yet, I can without hesitation recommend you read The Great COVID Panic by Paul Frijters, Gigi Foster, and Michael Baker. The authors make a strong case that the majority of the world succumbed to a great panic over COVID in early 2020 and our governments enacted policies which, on balance, were irrational and harmful.

Please feel free to comment below. Alternatively, you can email comments, questions, suggestions, or hot tips to contact@queenslandeconomywatch.com. I also post from time-to-time on my business website adepteconomics.com.au, so please consider subscribing to updates there (Get in touch). Also please check out my Economics Explored podcast, which has a new episode each week.