Technology in Australia During COVID - Report Sample

Introduction

The Covid19 pandemic led to an increase in the telecommunications network in Australia. It was mostly due to people being positioned in lock-down and working or studying from home, which was done online. Also, there was an increase in the collaboration between the various communication networks and the government to ensure that all Australians stay connected. Also, the government proceeded to announce that they are closing the borders for non-residents and international students. The treasurer had given a signal through the ABC, a television broadcasting firm, about the impending ban one day before the Prime Minister made the official announcement. He further indicated that closing the borders to foreigners was due to how the virus was presently spreading in the community. The study will explore the Australian government's communication tactics on the closure of borders to non-residents and international students.

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Public Interest Theory

In March 2020, the Australian prime minister broadcasted that the country would close its borders to all non-residents of Australia. It was an enhanced border measure in response to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19). The public interest theory is usually multi-faceted. It has been depicted that the decision-maker will have to reflect and assess the weight of these facets before concluding where public interest exists. Also, the theory indicates that the directive seeks the safety and benefit of the public at large (Johnston & Pieczka, 2018). In this context, a final assessment of the public interest by the Australian government entailed a determination of the important features of the public interest. The interests were those that seemed conflicting and relative relevance that should have been given to them for the public interest to be determined and attended to effectively (Wheeler, 2013).

It is also fundamental to note that significant values should be presented when efforts are being applied to obtaining the best public interest solutions. One of the values is deliberation. A thorough debate was held before closing the border (Macnamara, 2014). The risks and benefits of the action were also evaluated before making this decision. Another value to be considered when finding public interest solutions includes fairness (Johnston & Pieczka, 2018).

An instance can be analyzed from the aspect of closing the border for non-Australian residents. It was only fair for them not to enter Australia for the disease not to spread among the residents. There is also the value of openness when it comes to public concern and publicness and discovery (Maitland, 2002).

Enlightened Self-Interest Theory

On the other hand, there is the enlightened self-interest theory. It is an ethical theory that proposes an individual can serve their interests while benefiting other people, the local community, or society at large. The aspect of self-interests leads one to create cooperative activities, unite, and even engage in communal help (Falk, 2000). As such, self-interest is not similar to making money. In fact, it considers money-making as quite immoral or degrading. The enlightened self-interest theory is further tied to democracy. It indicates that it is based on more than merely an advanced belief in human impartiality and regular societal evolutionism. By engaging in a little act of self-interest, everyone is happy in the long run (Roark, 2004).

Furthermore, it has been purported that enlightened self-interest is a creation of equilibrium among the community or shared interests, narrow self-interests, and other interests as well. It is an indication that a certain element of our lives cannot be maximized or minimized (Maitland, 2002). Besides, greed cannot be the element guiding people. Instead, the focus must be given to determine whether individual needs are being met as members of a greater society or community and also as ethical and accountable people (Badouard et al., 2016). People can choose to live a high-quality life as long as they have adequate income to sustain them physically and friends for social purposes as well.

Situational Theory

The theory focuses on interest and activity. It further views the public to be active or passive in the way they obtain information and process it as well. As such, the mode of communication to be used when passing information to the public will rely on certain factors (Dafermos, 2018). They include their capability to identify the problem and limitations and the level of participation. An active public is one that comprehends all these factors, and it will be easier for them to engage with the issue at hand and further comprehend the way their interests may be affected (Kriyantono, 2012). They will also be cooperative with the measures to be adopted to sort an issue and even have the desire to be involved.

Stakeholders' and Common Good Theory. There is the theory of the common good, which can be assessed with stakeholders' theory. The managers, shareholders, and workers of a firm obtain their rights and duties as company members. The main role of each of them is to attain the organization's goal or simply contribute to its common good. They do this by offering the factor they have, which can be labor or capital, and further by assisting to generate a situation where the firm's common good can develop (Argandona, 1998). In this case, it means producing the situations where every company member obtains from the firm what they can rationally expect from it and what they have a right to get through the quality of their input.

Nonetheless, it is vital to note that the common good goes beyond the confines of the firm. All the firm's associations will contain an element of the common good when the common good comes from human sociability (Argandona, n.d). Thus, the most relevant action here is to extend the list of stakeholders to comprise banks, unions, suppliers, consumers, the local community, and interest groups, among others. It should include everyone but by the feature of the human family.

Communication Analysis

Efficient public communication in Australia was vital for the maintenance of physical distancing rules as one of the major ways to minimize the spread of the Coronavirus. Also, the government announcement of the closure of borders to non-residents was made in a timely manner. The government used various communication channels, and one of them was press releases. The government collaborated with the health department and assessed the situation at that time regarding the spread of Covid-19 locally and internationally. As such, they decided to act in a way that would be beneficial to the entire public. Since the decision to close the borders for non-Australian residents was in the community's best interest and the entire country, they did not consider elements such as disruption of trade activities (Ali & Kurasawa, 2020). Thus, the press release was an official statement released to members of the public, and the various media channels implemented the information.

Social media has led to a high and exceptional crisis of public understanding, especially during the pandemic. The various social media platforms ranging from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit, among others, acted as facilitators and multipliers of Covid-19 related propaganda. Once the information was passed to the press, they then shared it with their social media platforms. It may be purported that people globally have access to at least one or two social media platforms where information is dispersed. Social media platforms can be viewed as close ties that may seem to compromise more formal networks. They are also ties that bridge across different social units within the community, then act as a bond to the entire community. The Australian government also used their Twitter platform to pass the message about closure of borders. The Australian border force also provided the same information. Twitter is a popular platform among various individuals and mostly students. Thus, getting this information was quite easy for most of those who were to be affected by the decision.

The Guardian, which is among the top-rated global online publication and British print newspaper, gave the information on border closure as it was being presented by the government. It is available only in the online format and quite easy for non-residents and foreign learners to access any news. In Melbourne, for instance, the Guardian reported about the long queues at the checkpoints after more than 50,000 people crossed the NSW-Victoria border after it was closed. People needed a permit to cross and to show further that they were Australian citizens. Being a vast platform with several years of providing credible information, non-residents and international students could easily access the news about the border closure from their platform.

Government

The Health Ministry and the Australian government also collaborated to communicate and emphasize the closure of borders to non-residents and international students. Some states and territories in Australia that closed their borders to travelers ranked as ‘non-essential due to Coivd19. However, the Health Ministry indicated that every state or territory had its entry requirements. As such, there was updated information on the restrictions in all territories and states in the Covid19 Restriction Checker online. To emphasize this news, they depicted that some forms of gatherings, activities, and businesses had also been restricted to curb the spread of Covid19.

One of the online platforms that helped communicate about the border closure was ‘Times Higher Education,’ a weekly magazine based on London and reporting mainly on news and issues linked to higher education. As such, their online platform gave international students updated information on border closure and those facing economic hardship advised to go home. Also, through this platform, vice-chancellors of different universities were able to give information about the same issue and advised the learners on the steps to take (Ross, 2020). They further attached the image below to the news about border closures and international students' need to go home.

Conclusion

There has also been constancy by the government communication about Covid-19 and which also became part of the daily routines during the lockdown. There was a quick branding of communication that stayed consistent across all platforms for government information. For instance, in New Zealand, the design consisted of a yellow striped logo and a clear message that told people to stay home and save lives. There was also the use of an art level structure, which assisted in creating a simple and efficient message. Similarly, the same was seen about the information to close the borders for non-residents and international students. The initial message organization was effective with a proper visual brand and consistent delivery, making it easy to implement. It is also vital to note that initially, there was a slower start to a consistent communications approach. However, the Australian government stepped up and enhanced message delivery. They made it clear, and the Prime Minister further worked on his consistency by holding systematic press talks to give the nation updates directly (MacMillan, 2020).