And way too many people don't have the money partake as they previously did.
And there is a lot of pent up demand with excess cash in the economy causing inflationary pressures in many sectors of the economy
The
RBA forecasts in fact show a very resilient economy (pre Omicron)
- see public demand, real household disposable income, wage prices
There were a lot of the armageddon message circa Delta - millions will get infected, the hospitals will be overwhelmed and those seeking treatment will be left sitting in the gutter gasping for air. That never came to pass and the modelling all completely overestimating. Multiple lockdowns causes all sorts of other problems because society is multifaceted, not just Reff
People observed all that, and have since decided to work out their own strategies to “live” with Omicron/delta/etc etc. I suspect even the media has changed its reporting ever so slightly.
My scenario is this: everyone (use millions if you wish) eventually gets infected, with the economy purring along (and even the RBA putting out anti-inflationatory interest rate rises), while the ICU does not going into the code Black. So I am on the “Omicron-Bring-It-On” side.
Note the canary in the cage - there is no toilet paper hoarding this time.
If there is one sector still losing out, it is the office space real estate market. Maybe City apartment rentals as well
Essentially there has to be an economy to pay for all the healthcare and other social safety nets. The latest National Cabinet changes to “close contact” helps the economy to keep ticking over and the Premiers have all now discovered that they cannot forever lock Covid out.