In 2019, Australia’s pandemic influenza plan specified that border control measures would not be used in the event of an influenza pandemic. It took a meagre 70 days for that policy to change and for Australia to close its international borders to foreign nationals. This is one of the most significant policy shifts in response to a crisis ever taken by the Australian government. The thesis investigates the causal influence of Australia’s pandemic governance ecosystem on this policy shift.

About the Author

Nick Coatsworth as one of Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officers. He is also the Executive Director of the Medical Services Group at Canberra Health Services. Nick held a key national role in the Australian response to COVID-19. Currently, Nick is part way through his doctoral thesis understanding the Australian foreign policy response to global health events, focussing on the COVID-19 pandemic.

This seminar is Nick’s mid-candidature presentation of his research journey so far.

COVID protocols

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This seminar presentation will be in-person only.

Image credit: Image of Adelaide airport deserted in pandemic times by Michael Coghlan from flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)