Will Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights Survive a Second Pandemic in Australia? A Case Study of the Legal Foundations and Mechanisms of Implementation of Australia's COVID-19 Response

Article

Hemming, Andrew. 2024. "Will Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights Survive a Second Pandemic in Australia? A Case Study of the Legal Foundations and Mechanisms of Implementation of Australia's COVID-19 Response." Australian Law Journal. 98 (8), pp. 578-595.

Article Title	Will Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights Survive a Second Pandemic in Australia? A Case Study of the Legal Foundations and Mechanisms of Implementation of Australia's COVID-19 Response
ERA Journal ID	33861
Article Category	Article
Authors	Hemming, Andrew
Journal Title	Australian Law Journal
Journal Citation	98 (8), pp. 578-595
Number of Pages	18
Year	2024
Publisher	Lawbook Co.
Place of Publication	Australia
ISSN	0004-9611
Web Address (URL)	https://legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/products/australian-law-journal/
Abstract	This article is a case study of the laws and regulations at both the Commonwealth and State level that were relied upon to uphold Australia’s COVID-19 response, and the behavioural mechanisms used by governments in Australia to implement these regulatory policies. The question will be posed now that borders have been re-opened and normality restored in a ‘we will have to live with COVID-19’ environment, whether the draconian restrictions on democratic freedoms and human rights could reoccur unless Australia changes the manner in which these laws and regulations are imposed by governments and interpreted by the courts, especially given the High Court’s decision in Palmer v Western Australia. This question is particularly important given the announcement on 21 September 2023 that the Commonwealth Government was setting up a COVID-19 Response Inquiry to identify lessons learned to improve Australia’s preparedness for future pandemics.
Keywords	Democratic freedoms ; Legal Foundations; COVID 19 pandemic
Contains Sensitive Content	Does not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020	489999. Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified
Public Notes	Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.
Byline Affiliations	School of Law and Justice

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