The Federal Government is predicting a 30 per cent drop in the number of migrants this financial year, and an 85 per cent drop in 2020-21 (compared with 2018-19). Some argue the coronavirus-induced slump offers an opportunity to rethink Australia's migration program.

Businessman and former federal MP Clive Palmer claimed that use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine contributed to Australia’s low death rate during the coronavirus pandemic. He said the Covid-19 death curve had flattened after the federal health minister announced the drug would be made available for hospital patients. Mr Palmer’s claim is baseless.

In just a few short weeks, COVID-19 became part of the global lexicon, uttered daily in tones of dread and as shorthand for the pandemic now afflicting the world. But how was its name derived; likewise, the names of other fatal viruses?

CEO of the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), Cassandra Goldie, claimed that people unemployed for more than a year are roughly half as likely to ever find another job, and that this was the experience after the 2008-09 global financial crisis. Dr Goldie’s claim is a fair call.

Australia and New Zealand remain among a small group of countries that have so far managed to subdue the deadly coronavirus pandemic. But Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been keen to stress Australia is not entirely in lock-step with its trans-Tasman neighbour.