“They” will never let you stop working

but who are “they,” exactly?

Scott Morrison, Australian PM (image: ABC, used without permission)

In late March 2020, as COVID was making inroads into Australia, the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, declared that the new “National Cabinet” would replace the old Council of Australian Governments (COAG). This rather dry story, of interest to only the most dire wonks, was accompanied by a rationale for this sudden and sweeping reform: “This is a…