Paper Example: An In-Depth Analysis of Australia's Effective COVID-19 Communication and Safety Measures

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).

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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 so the disease not spread among the residents. There is also the value of openness when it comes to public concern 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-interest 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 determining 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 themselves 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 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, and then act as a bond to the entire community. As such, in the case of COVID-19, it was in the interest of economic development and wider political or social participation of the community in the wider society, which comprised non-residents and international learners. The issue of closing the borders due to COVID-19 then became an issue of linking to looser networks beyond the community. It is also relevant to note that such bridges are likely to be mediated by certain individuals adequately trusted by all parties to form a conduit between otherwise disparate or isolated networks (Ali & Kurasawa, 2020). By sharing this information with their platforms on social media, various news channels were then able to ensure it could be accessed even by international learners and other non-Australian residents.

It is also vital to note that the government used social media platforms to disseminate this information to non-Australian residents and international students. Most people worldwide were relying on these online platforms to gather information about what was going on in other places globally, and it was easier to do this online. One of the most effective social media platforms at that time was Twitter.

Through social media platforms as a way of releasing information on the closure of borders, the government acted for the common good. The news was given to the press, who then shared it with other stakeholders in the public domain. This ensured that it was properly comprehended, including the reasons behind the decision. Also, social media helped the government spread the news easily across borders, showing that it was acting for the common good.

Advertisements are another way of communication the government used to present the pandemic. In this case, they networked with the media channels to emphasize the relevance of people not traveling at that time and exercising social distancing and proper sanitation. As such, this was also a way of them acting in the public interest and depicting the value of openness in distributing information that had a huge effect on public members. Furthermore, in this case, the government analyzed the public and saw that it was active concerning the issue of COVID-19 (LHou, 2020). The entire world was also active, and this would sensitize even the international learners more in case they checked the news channels in Australia to comprehend the way they were taking the entire pandemic and the measures adopted (Onyx, 2004). Besides, through the advertisements, it enabled every stakeholder in the public domain to obtain what they could and implement it as well.

There has also been constancy in government communication about COVID-19 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).

Conclusion

In the above analysis, it is apparent that the information disseminated from the government to the public through the various communication channels was quite effective and made them handle the pandemic with the severity it deserved. The presentations were simple and mainly easy for every person to comprehend, whether they were in or out of the country. Also, giving daily updates to the Prime Minister was a way of ensuring that all the stakeholders took the pandemic seriously and were positive about the closure of borders. It was also easy for the entire rule to be implemented by the border officials all for the people's common good.

References

Ali, S., & Kurasawa, F. (2020). #COVID19: Social media is both a blessing and a curse during the coronavirus pandemic. The Conversation. Retrieved 22 September 2020, from https://theconversation.com/covid19-social-media-both-a-blessing-and-a-curse-during-coronavirus-pandemic-133596.

Argandoña, A. (1998). The stakeholder theory and the common good. Journal of Business Ethics, 17(9-10), 1093-1102.