While many Australians agree with the need for COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, a vocal minority of citizens loudly voice opposition to government re-strictions, characterised as impositions on ‘free speech’ and impacting the Australian economy. National data from the 2020/21 Australian Survey of Social and Attitudes and Tasmanian survey data enable an examination of those who support or oppose health initiatives aimed at minimising the impact of the pandemic. The majority of Australians believed government im-posed restrictions were ‘about right’, although women were more likely than men to be concerned about the health implications of COVID-19. Tasmanian data show that controlling for social background, those who prioritise the economy are less likely than those concerned about the health implications of COVID-19 to wear masks in public, less likely to be tested in case they have to self-isolate, less likely to check in, and less likely to be vaccinated. Alternatively, higher trust in university research, and trust in scientists as a source of information about COVID-19 was positively associated with attitudes and behaviour designed to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	COVID-19 , Australia, health, economy
Research Division:	Human Society
Research Group:	Sociology
Research Field:	Sociology of health
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Evaluation of health and support services
Objective Field:	Social structure and health
UTAS Author:	Tranter, B (Professor Bruce Tranter)
ID Code:	149999
Year Published:	2022
Web of Science® Times Cited:	1
Deposited By:	Office of the School of Social Sciences
Deposited On:	2022-05-09
Last Modified:	2022-11-23
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