Opinion
Australian state governments too often like to use car license plates as banners for their Maoist little slogans. Especially in Victoria. They used to be just “The Garden State”, but in the last few decades, they’ve had “Nuclear Free State”, “Education State”, and so on. Still, not as embarrassing as Western Australia’s “WA Home of the America’s Cup”, which just a few years later, wags with textas altered to “WAS Home of the America’s Cup”.
Back in Jeff Kennett’s day, it was “Victoria: On the Move”. On the Move from what? From under a mountain of debt caused by a decade or so of Labor incompetence, repeatedly voted for by Australia’s Wokest State (hey, VicRoads: looking for a new slogan?).
Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose, indeed.
Once again, Victoria is broke and in debt up to its eyeballs. As happened in the 90s, the architect of the disaster has quietly slipped out of sight, leaving a hapless woman to take the heat.
Victoria is so flat broke that it can’t even pay for what its government long touted as their greatest achievement.
Major projects including expensive level crossing removals on the Upfield train line face being delayed, while other planned works are also being pushed back, as the state government seeks to slow ballooning debt before its budget.
At every election, former premier Dan Andrews would trot out the level crossings thing as his government’s singular achievement. So much for that. At the rate the state’s finances are going, they’ll be lucky to be able to afford a lollipop lady to stop traffic for the trains to pass.
Victoria’s net debt is expected to hit $177.8 billion by 2027, and by then the state is forecast to be paying $8.8 billion to meet its interest bill on the debt.
As Treasurer Tim Pallas prepares his 10th budget, five sources inside the government and construction industry, speaking anonymously to detail confidential discussions, said the economic conditions were forcing a rethink on projects that were still in planning stages.
Why bother planning more, when you can’t even finish, let alone afford, the ones you’ve started?
The squeeze has been compounded by the fact the federal government has not committed to fund a third of the $34.5 billion Suburban Rail Loop East project, which the Allan government had originally been counting on. Another source said the government could fund the loop, alongside the $26.1 billion North East Link, on its own over the next four to six years, but it would take up the money available for new projects […]
The Brunswick sky rail was estimated to cost $1.36 billion before the last election in Parliamentary Budget Office costings commissioned by the Greens and seen by The Age. Since then, the price of concrete, steel and asphalt has surged 19 per cent annually. The level crossing removal program was former premier Daniel Andrews’ signature transport policy at the 2014 election.
Sydney Morning Herald
Then there’s the West Gate Tunnel, years behind schedule and (so far) nearly $6 billion over budget. The state also had to back out of hosting the Commonwealth Games, after it blew out its already-eye-watering budget of $2.6 billion. Labor also quietly dropped a plan to build hundreds of “social housing” units in leafy Parkville. Dictator Dan also promised 4000 new ICU beds, which was never even spoken about again.
Back in Kennett’s day, as well, Victorians were slugged with a special tax levy, the Cain-Kirner Debt Levy, to pay for what they’d voted for, for so long. This time, Labor isn’t even waiting to be booted out: they’ve brought in their own Dictator Dan Debt Tax already. Of course, they aren’t honest enough to call it that: it’s the “COVID debt levy”, and it’s bashing landowners — and still not even paying off the interest on the debt.
According to new modelling by the state’s Parliamentary Budget Office, the land tax changes will bring in $5.6 billion in revenue over the next four years – 21 per cent more revenue than land tax brought in prior to the changes.
Sky News
Yet the interest bill alone is forecast to reach nearly $9 billion in just a couple of years.
Suck it up, Victorians: you voted for this.