Melbourne, Australia is in its sixth COVID-19 lockdown and is now the longest locked-down city in the world. Australia has taken an unprecedented approach to fighting the pandemic within its borders, implementing extreme lockdown measures. Leaders across Australia have instantly put their states and cities into lockdown when COVID-19 cases are reported, believing that “zero cases [means] freedom,” Evan Mulholland, director of communications at the Institute of Public Affairs in Australia, says. “But … zero cases actually means zero jobs. It means zero hope. It actually means zero freedom at the end of the day because you're not getting on with life,” Mulholland says. The ongoing lockdowns have led to protests in Melbourne and other parts of the country where citizens are demanding an end to the strict pandemic measures. Mulholland, who lives in Melbourne, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss what life is like in Australia right now, and what lessons other free nations should heed from Australia’s handling of the pandemic. We also cover these stories:Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says it was the State Department’s “call” not to conduct early evacuations of American citizens and special immigrant visa holders out of Afghanistan.United Airlines is firing almost 600 employees for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19.YouTube announces it no longer will target only misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, but also content that promotes misinformation about other vaccines.Enjoy the show! Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.