Joining Hamish Macdonald to discuss what the future holds for Australians in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are: Nev Power, Executive Chairman of the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission; Sally McManus, Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary; Simon Longstaff, Executive Director of The Ethics Centre; Gigi Foster, economist, UNSW; and Jodie McVernon, an epidemiologist at the Doherty Institute.

The pandemic has already taken a terrible economic toll and the recovery will take longer than first predicted. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says we are in the “fight of our lives”, with Australia recording the largest budget deficit in modern history. So who will benefit, who will lose out, and will it be enough to keep our hardest hit sectors going? On the panel to discuss this and more are: Bill Bowtell, Adjunct Professor, UNSW and Strategic Health Policy Adviser; Gigi Foster, economist, UNSW; George Megalogenis, author and journalist; Cassandra Goldie, CEO of Australian Council of Social Service; and Karen Soo, Executive Officer at the Haymarket Chamber of Commerce. With a live cross to: Simon Birmingham, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Katy Gallagher, Shadow Minister for Finance.

COVID is giving us a chance to reset, but already we’re seeing a toxic form of vaccine nationalism take hold, in which unequal access to vaccines is leaving some countries out in the cold. So how do we design a more equal world? Joining Hamish Macdonald on the panel are: Stan Grant, journalist and author; Bruce Pascoe, author; Sam Mostyn, President, Chief Executive Women; Gigi Foster, Economist, UNSW; Adam Creighton, Economics editor, The Australian. Also joining the conversation is Thomas Piketty, Internationally renowned economist. Also includes a live musical performance by Dami Im.