“The problem with socialism”, as Margaret Thatcher so famously said, “is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” The socialist state of Victoria doesn’t see any such problem. Mainly because there’s always hundreds of billions of dollars of other Australians’ money to bail them out of their own stupidity.
As Victoria remains in a state of collective Stockholm Syndrome, electing the corrupt, authoritarian government of “Dictator Dan” Andrews, over and over, the rest of the nation is having to pony up for the massive cost. The Andrews government’s disastrous Covid lockdowns alone racked up debt nudging a hundred billion. Andrews’ eye-watering splurge of vote-buying at the last election ran tens of billions more up on the state’s credit card.
Now, “Cucktorians” are looking to the rest of us to save them from themselves.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has gone cap-in-hand – and even more, empty (these days, digital) wallet-in-hand – to Canberra for a multi-billion-dollar federal bailout. Suddenly the problems of 6.5m Victorians are also the problems of all 26m Australians as well. And, more potently, doubly so.
First, any federal money directed to Victoria would come from all Australians.
That’s just the start. As Victoria maxes out its credit card, for the second time in recent memory a Labor government is seeing the state’s credit rating smashed. Meaning that it’s going to cost even more for them to borrow money for all those election promises. Costs that will inevitably be passed on to the rest of us.
Secondly, is the impact that yet another downgrade of Victorian state debt would have on the interest rates paid by all the other state governments – and the federal government – on their debts.
Victoria has already lost its Triple-A rating, going down two full notches to AA. Soberly, a single-A beckons. If that happened, it would be the first time ever for any state government. So yes, Victorians will be living out the truth of the observation from famed American humorist HL Mencken, that they deserve “to get it good and hard” for re-electing the Andrews government last year.
But what did the rest of us do, to deserve Victoria?
Now, you’ve almost got to feel a tad sorry for Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas. He’s been a pretty solid fiscal fiend, among the better state treasurers of any in recent years – of both Labor and Liberal […]
But Pallas has to take the rap for not standing up to Chairman Dan’s insane, utterly uncontrolled ‘Big Build’, which was heading for a fiscal disaster that was going to make the Cain-Kirner ‘Guilty Party’ years look mild, before Covid.
Then add on the wild spending through the Covid years and the most savage and extended lockdowns in the world which so damaged great swathes of Victorian business.
Plus the Chairman’s mindless commitment to destroy Victoria’s cheap and reliable energy.
Victorian Labor has tried to paper over the absolute horror show of its finances by relying on that old fall-back of Australian economic charlatans: mass migration.
Over the last 12 months Victoria has shared in the economic ‘sugar hit’ of the massive migration surge.
Their spending dollars come upfront – their cost in demand on public services and infrastructure will come at an accelerating pace.
It’s a dodgy scam that will inevitably come undone. For now, though, it’s creating the apparition of a slight improvement in the Victorian budget outlook.
But only very marginally. Net Victorian debt would be slightly lower at $165bn by 2025-26 – or more than the debt of NSW and Queensland combined. It would be net debt of $25,000 per Victorian as against $14,000 per NSW head and just $7000 per Queenslander.
If only.
That assumes the most optimistic projections of both the state and national economies. It also takes no account of the massive – and I mean humungous – blowout in the ‘Big Build’ spend and in particular the crazy insane rail tunnel around Melbourne.
That’s headed for a blow out of at least $100bn – adding close to $20,000 per Victorian to debt. And don’t forget that ‘behind’ all this state debt is the $766bn of net federal debt.
Herald-Sun
In 1992, the Victorian Liberals at least had Jeff Kennett and Alan Stockdale to save the state’s economy – over the bellowing outrage of the local left-media, of course. Kennett and Stockdale may have taken an unwelcome razor to the state’s spending, but it was a fiscal reckoning Victorians had brought on themselves.
Now that they’ve done it again, what have the Liberals got to offer? Dripping wet, spineless flatworms like John Pesutto?
Save us all from Victoria. Please.