Australia's COVID-19 success is the envy of the world, with just 909 deaths more than 12 months after the deadly pandemic first reached our shores. That feat has been breathlessly praised by the international media, with the Washington Post reporting in November that we had "almost eliminated the coronavirus by putting faith in science" and The New York Times celebrating the fact our "short, sharp responses have repeatedly subdued the virus and allowed a return to near normalcy". It is undeniably a cause for celebration given how seriously the pandemic has devastated other nations, with the death toll in the US alone rapidly approaching 465,000.