Pandemics, public health emergencies and government powers
Subtitle: perspectives on Australian law
By: editors, Belinda Bennett, Ian Freckelton. ; foreword by Peter C. Doherty
Publisher: The Federation Press
Published: 2021
Place of publication: Alexandria, NSW
Language: eng
Number of pages: 414
ISBN-13: 9781760022969
Subjects: Executive power; Epidemics; Government policy
Description: "Pandemics, Public Health Emergencies and Government Powers: Perspectives on Australian Law explores the multi-layered and multi-faceted ways in which Australia's laws, regulations and law-makers have engaged with the COVID-19 pandemic. What emerges from the 21 chapters from leading scholars in this edited collection is that there have been both successes and failures. The virus keeps evolving and we as a nation need to continue to learn from international developments and what has, and has not, worked in Australia. Law is an integral part of the public health framework that protects the community during a pandemic. A significant component of Australia's legal response to COVID-19 has been to give extensive powers to State and Territory governments to manage the crisis. This has involved imposition of limits on individuals' rights and liberties in relation to quarantine arrangements, border control, lockdowns, curfews and face masks, as well as requirements to use QR codes. At times these measures have been controversial, both legally and within the general community. Our workplaces, our clinical services, our research processes and our legal system will emerge changed after COVID-19. This requires ongoing evaluation and reflection." --
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 367-407) and index.
Table of contents: title: 1. Rights and powers during public health emergencies / Belinda Bennett and Ian Freckelton; title: 2. Pandemics will happen: how have we minimised and managed COVID-19? / Mary-Lousie McLaws; title: 3. COVID-19 in historical context: Australian legal and regulatory responses to past influenza pandemics / Gabrielle Wolf; title: 4. Federal and State powers to deal with pandemics; title: cooperation, conflict and confusion / Anne Twomey; title: 5. Public health emergencies in Australia / Peta Stephenson, Ian Freckelton and Belinda Bennett; title: 6. Government inquiries, investigations and reports during the COVID-19 pandemic / Ian Freckelton; title: 7. Obtaining COVID-19 vaccines: how the Government sold the parachutes / Justin Malbon; title: 8. Human rights in a pandemic / George Williams and Sophie Rigney; title: 9. Facemasks for public use during the COVID-19 pandemic: an examination of responses in Australia and England / Fiona McDonald and Claire J Horwell; title: 10. The Australian COVIDSafe app and privacy: lessons for the future of privacy regulation / Norman Witzleb and Moira Paterson; title: 11. Economic hardship payments in health emergencies / Terry Carney; title: 12. Work health and safety: regulating for safe and sustainable work practices in a post-pandemic world / Joellen Riley Munton; title: 13. Contract in the time of COVID-19 / Katy Barnett and Matthew Harding; title: 14. Post-separation parenting during COVID-19 / Donna Cooper; title: 15. The administration of justice during public health emergencies / Nigel Stobbs and Ian Freckelton; title: 16. Patient rights and practitioner responsibilities during a pandemic / Marie Bismark, Ron Paterson and Owen Bradfield; title: 17. Gender and COVID-19: an Australian perspective / Belinda Bennett and Claire E Brolan; title: 18. First Nations health during COVID-19 pandemic; title: reversing the gap / Fiona Stanley, Marcia Langton, Sandra Eades and James Ward; title: 19. The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of legislative requirements on residential aged care / Melinda Martin-Khan and Elizabeth Beattie; title: 20. Health research and COVID-19 / Margaret Otlowski and Ian Freckelton; title: 21. End of life decision-making, advance care planning and estate planning during a pandemic / Kelly Purser, Lindy Willmott, Ben White, Eliana Close and Tina Cockburn.