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She’ll be right, mate Australia’s secret weapon in fighting COVID-19 has been a spirit of mateship that can also be seen in the insurance sector, writes Stefan Feldmann IN THE COVID-19 pandemic, Australia and New Zealand can both be considered the lucky countries. We counted significantly fewer COVID-19 infections and deaths than other nations. A recent analysis by the Lowy Institute in Sydney confirmed that our region is among the most successful in containing the virus. Whilst New Zealand tops the list globally, Australia also made it into the top 10, next to Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Rwanda and Iceland. As island nations, New Zealand and Australia were able to close borders to international travellers early on and establish a quarantine system for returnees. New Zealand managed to eradicate the disease in the community, thanks to a tough sevenweek-long lockdown. Australia also locked the country down, noticeably with fewer and less severe restrictions. In the end, both countries achieved elimination, although our good fortune here was interrupted by Melbourne’s major COVID-19 outbreak, hampering Australia’s recovery. Since then, single cases or clusters in the community that slipped through quarantine have been contained via a strong contact tracing system and snap lockdowns. Looking at the enviable life we lead again – visiting food venues, art exhibitions, the theatre and even sports events – I started to question why Europe, and particularly my home country of Germany, have not achieved the same. At the same time, I noticed that the German press were looking to Australia and
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New Zealand as examples. The “zero-COVID strategy”, as they dubbed it, became a desirable option, and scientists, commentators and parts of the public demanded a strengthening of lockdown restrictions, which reduced daily infections but has not yet made a significant impact on death numbers, which still range in the hundreds in Germany every day.
eties”, explaining that this made a strict lockdown and quarantine much harder to accept in Europe. The introduction of QR codes, for example, is unthinkable for many Europeans, who have experienced suppressive regimes before. “If this was implemented here in Europe, it would remind me of the communism that I grew up in when I lived in Hungary,” an old friend told me when I counted out the measures that work for our region. However, in my opinion, there’s another aspect that sets us apart, and it’s the one I am most proud of: Australian mateship. In the past months, I have witnessed countless acts where people sprang into action to help neighbours, looked after the elderly, took in and provided support to stranded backpackers, and supported struggling local businesses. Although experiencing certain hurdles ourselves due to the disruption of the global supply chain, the HDI Global SE team has so far coped extremely well, and I attribute this to our embracing of the true spirit of mateship. By distributing UberEats vouchers,
“I have witnessed countless acts where people sprang into action to help neighbours, looked after the elderly, took in and provided support to stranded backpackers, and supported struggling local businesses” By studying experts’ opinions, I’ve learnt that we are indeed lucky. Catherine Bennett, an epidemiologist at Deakin University in Geelong, explained in an interview in The Age that autumn and winter in Europe created more favourable conditions for COVID-19, and a lack of sunlight also meant the virus could survive longer on surfaces. William Rawlinson, a virologist from the University of NSW in Sydney, told the German paper Die Welt that the “large number of border crossings” in Europe made the Australian and New Zealand strategy (closed border plus quarantine) basically impossible there. Rawlinson also commented on the “very long history” of “open and transparent soci-
booking cooking sessions and cocktail-making classes, and hiring magicians and musicians for virtual shows, we not only supported the community and hard-hit industries, but also helped raise our own spirits and those of our staff, broker partners and clients. As a result, I can truly say that I have never felt more engaged in this community. The popular saying “She’ll be right, mate” has really hit home. Stefan Feldmann is the managing director and regional head for ASEAN and Australasia at industrial insurer HDI Global SE. He joined the company in 2010 and has considerably expanded its business engagement in the region.
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19/03/2021 9:30:45 am