Soon to be published by Federation Press is a new book edited by Belinda Bennett and Ian Freckelton, Pandemics, Public Health Emergencies and Government Powers – Perspectives on Australian Law.
The publisher’s webpage says:
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 some high profile failures. The virus continues to evolve and we as a nation need to continue to learn from international developments and what has worked in Australia and what has not. Law is an integral part of what protects the community against a pandemic. However, a significant component of Australia’s legal response to COVID-19 has been giving extensive powers to State and Territory governments to manage the crisis. This has involved encroachments on individuals’ rights and liberties in relation to quarantine arrangements, border control, lockdowns, curfews face masks and mandatory vaccination, as well as requirements to comply with QR codes and exhortations to utilise the COVIDSafe app. At times these initiatives have been highly contentious. Our workplaces, our clinical services, our research processes and our legal system will emerge changed in the aftermath of the worst of COVID-19. This requires ongoing evaluation and reflectiveness.
The book is in four parts.
A – Covid 19 in context
B – The Role of Government
C – Legal respondes to the impact of the pandemic
D – Health care
Part D Health Care includes the following:
16. Patient Rights and Practitioner Responsibilities During a Pandemic – M Bismark, R Paterson, O Bradfield
17. Gender and COVID-19: An Australian Perspective – B Bennett and CE Brolan
18. First Nations Health During COVID-19 Pandemic – Reversing the Gap – F Stanley, M Langton, S Eades and J Ward
19. The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Impact of Legislative Requirements on Residential Aged Care – M Martin-Khan and E Beattie
20. Health Research and COVID-19 – M Otlowski and I Freckelton
21. End of Life Decision-Making, Advance Care Planning and Estate Planning During a Pandemic – K Purser, L Willmott, B White, E Close and T Cockburn