Covid-19 scapegoat

Victorians will be paying for the financial mismanagement of the Dan Andrews’ government for at least the next decade. 

This week’s state budget revealed the massive cost of the failings for families, workers and businesses. 

Worse, the government had revealed no credible plan to bring the vast debt under control. 

Victoria’s net debt will balloon out to $171 billion, that is 171,000 million dollars, by 2026.

This is more than three times the amount forecast in the 2019-20 state budget.

Victoria’s debt is more than the combined debt of New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.

It is more than $25,000 for every person in the state. For a family of four, the net debt will be more than $100,000.

The interest bill on this debt is some $10 million per day. This will rise to $22 million per day by 2026-27.

In other words, the state could build a new school every week for the amount of interest being paid. It could build a new hospital in three months’ worth of interest payments. 

The Premier claims that the dire situation is a consequence of Covid. Yet most of the debt accrued since 2019-20 is unrelated to Covid.

The Labor government inherited a debt of just $22 billion when it was first elected. It claims that Covid has added $30 billion to the debt. The massive borrowings - and consequent debt - are for other government expenditure.

Victorians are now paying twice. First for the most expensive and longest Covid lockdowns in the world. 

These lockdowns were unnecessary and failed, as they resulted in the highest death rates in Australia.

Much of the additional Covid expenditure that Victorians will now have to pay for was unnecessary.

Secondly, Victorians will have to pay for the government’s additional borrowings.

Worse, the state has no plans to reduce the borrowings in the coming years! Debt will grow from $135 billion in 2023-24 to $171 billion in 2026.

How can Victorians trust the promise that borrowings will be reduced in the future?

Not only are Victorians being slugged with higher interest payments on the debt, services are being reduced and taxes raised.

These will hit middle income earners in particular.

These penalties will flow through to ordinary Victorians.

Consider the impact of various measures.

Two new levies on business and property investments will be passed on to others including renters and workers in the form of higher costs.

Increased payroll taxes affect the cost of doing business, impacting prices and employment. The state’s unemployment rate is forecast to increase in coming years.

The state’s growth is forecast to fall from 2.75 per cent this year to just 1.5 per cent in 2023-24.

New property taxes will compound the existing housing shortage and drive-up rental prices as migration continues to rise.

The state’s burdened health system faces even cuts, following a $2 billion cut last year. According to Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell, another 1 billion is being cut to a system that is struggling with growing hospital waiting lists and long queues for ambulances.

Tens of thousands of parents who sacrifice to send their children to independent schools will also be hit by the abolition of payroll tax exemptions on more than 100 schools.

The tragedy for Victoria is that the Premier will not take responsibility for his failings.

First, it was the fault of Covid and then the Reserve Bank, but these factors didn’t lead to the financial disaster in other states that has occurred in Victoria. After nine years in government, the premier is clearly responsible for this mess.

He presides over a government that will not exploit the vast natural resources it has, shutting down important sources of revenue.

Despite the claims of the Premier, the next generation of Victorians will pay for the financial prolificacy of the current government. The burden will be felt for more than a decade.

Victoria’s tragedy is compounded by an ineffectual opposition more intent to date on internal warfare than fighting for the well-being and prosperity of the people.

It is a double tragedy for the state.

First published in the Epoch Times Australia.