I think you're speaking emotionally as a biased investor in a...

I think you're speaking emotionally as a biased investor in a bleeding stock.
Yes, there are current supply issues - self tests seem to sell out quickly whenever I look at supermarkets and chemists. Then again, I haven't seen half the approved tests readily available for retail purchase (albeit I may not be looking hard enough). Have you seen the CareStart test for sale in the wild?

If the government is going to step in and make tests more readily available and affordable, I would have thought a more logical option would be to bulk purchase and distribute for free or at a discounted cost like some other countries have done.

Sure, another option would be to open the floodgates and push TGA to approve more tests. But I assume there are a dozen more Chinese manufacturers keen to enter the Australian market with their cheaper and more accurate tests too.