What's also apparent, is the reluctance to unroll the expensive but effective JobKeeper/JobSeeker security blanket a second time.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week hyped recently increased federal payments, and rejected a return to JobKeeper, saying it was a solution to last year's problem that would take too long to roll out, when help was needed now. But last year's problem didn't disappear on January 1.

Mr Morrison may yet be forced to reinstate JobKeeper, but hopefully with some sort of claw-back provisions to counter some of the corporate pocket-padding uncovered the first time around.

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The federal government should have used the past 12 or so months to look at how a refined model of JobKeeper might better serve those who need it most, and provide better value for us taxpayers who have to ultimately foot the bill.

There's a long way to go in this pandemic and recovery will take a lot longer than the government's spreadsheets might otherwise indicate.

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On Thursday, the PM apologised for the vaccine rollout, which he said was two months behind schedule. The international situation varies, and we acknowledge the security afforded by our southern hemisphere isolation.

But we should have used that security to inoculate ahead of time, given the repeated credible warnings - since proven correct - the virus would mutate, and Australia would find itself besieged sooner or later.

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Ordinarily, an Olympic Games would provide relief for a weary world, but more than 60 of the 11,000 athletes in Tokyo have already tested positive for COVID. Officials say this is what they "expected to see", but the mood in Japan is reportedly grim.

Were the virus not so firmly entrenched, the already-delayed games would surely have been stopped. Horribly, it may yet prove to be.

Unfortunately, as with the NSW lockdowns, any post-Olympic reaction may be too little, too late.

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