Extensive lockdowns in Melbourne have harmed Victoria’s worldwide reputation and created long-term economic damage, according to a former premier.
Melbourne’s extended lockdowns have damaged Victoria’s international reputation and caused long-term economic damage to the state, a former premier says (pictured is an anti-vax protester being arrested in Melbourne in September last year)
On Saturday, Labor Premier Daniel Andrews confronts a potential voter backlash as he seeks a third consecutive four-year term in office.
Melbourne’s 263 days in lockdown were the world’s longest and substantially more severe than Sydney’s 159 days, Canberra’s 114 days, and Brisbane’s 67 days.
Rubber bullets were shot at anti-lockdown demonstrators in Melbourne last year, and a pregnant lady was detained in her Ballarat residence in 2020 for posting a protest message on social media.
Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, who governed the state from 1992 to 1999, stated that Melbourne’s lockdowns were so severe that they evoked recollections of communism in migrants who had escaped autocratic countries, leaving a terrible impression abroad.
Labor Premier Daniel Andrews faces a voter backlash as he seeks a third consecutive four-year term in power on Saturday
Extensive lockdowns in Melbourne have harmed Victoria’s worldwide reputation and created long-term economic damage, according to a former premier (pictured is an anti-vax protester being arrested in Melbourne in September last year)
days of confinement
MELBOURNE: 263 days
SYDNEY: 159 days
CANBERRA: 159 days
BRISBANE: 67 days
ADELAIDE: 62 days
PERTH: 61 days
DARWIN: 57 days
HOBART: 55 days
The other day, he told the Daily Mail Australia, he spoke to a Vietnamese man who had recently arrived. He had left communism in Vietnam some years ago – it’s been a while – but he said the direction we’re moving in is identical to what occurred in Vietnam.
“That’s an exaggeration, but I don’t think you can discount Australia’s international reputation for students and people who choose to relocate here in comparison to New South Wales, Queensland, or South Australia.”
Australia’s unemployment rate of 3.4% is the lowest in 48 years, which might make it more difficult for Victoria to recruit foreign physicians and international students.
The response to Covid was draconian with rubber bullets last year fired at anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne while a pregnant woman (Zoe Buhler pictured) was even arrested in her Ballarat home in 2020 for posting a protest message on social media
Mr. Kennett stated, “Our international reputation is a major deterrent to drawing individuals to the state.”
“Victoria has a poor reputation among individuals who are considering immigrating to Australia,” the author writes.
There are many people who may return to Australia, but are hesitant due to our reputation for additional lockdowns.
Mr. Kennett stated, “There has never been someone like Daniel Andrews in Australian politics,” he remarked.
The Institute of Public Affairs, a conservative think group, estimates that the lockdowns cost the state $218 billion, or $33,000 per Victorian.
The lockdowns are also set to leave a cost legacy with the Institute of Public Affairs think tank calculating they cost $218billion – or $33,000 for every Victorian (pictured is a wheelchair crossing a tram track in July, 2020)
Daniel Wild, the deputy executive director of the IPA, predicted that the economic harm will last for many years.
On Saturday, Labor Premier Daniel Andrews faces voter opposition as he pursues a third consecutive four-year term in office.
“Victoria’s disastrous Covid reaction, which included the longest lockdown in history, has left us all with a big economic hangover,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, who led Victoria from 1992 to 1999, said Melbourne’s lockdowns were so bad they stirred memories of communism from migrants who had fled dictatorial regimes
By instituting the world’s longest lockdown, Victoria’s most productive industries, tradies, and small companies were forced to sit on their hands, and our economy suffered significantly as a result.
The lockdowns were costly to the state’s budget, with each impacted firm receiving up to $8,400 in compensation last year.
A ratio of 189.2% debt-to-revenue is anticipated for the fiscal year 2022-23 for the state of Victoria’s gross government debt.
Rubber bullets were shot at anti-lockdown demonstrators in Melbourne last year, and a pregnant lady (pictured: Zoe Buhler) was even detained in her Ballarat home in 2020 for posting a protest message on social media.
economic production for each person
WESTERN AUSTRALIA: $146,423
NORTHERN TERRITORY: $124,533
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY: $102,334
NEW SOUTH WALES: $86,143
QUEENSLAND: $84,992
VICTORIA: $78,544
SOUTH AUSTRALIA: $71,180
TASMANIA: $67,511
June 2022 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics annual gross state product per capita
The public sector debt, which includes superannuation liabilities, is projected to increase from $119.4 billion in June 2022 to $196.8 billion in June 2026, according to budget documents.
Net debt, or what a government owes less its assets, was anticipated to increase from $101.9bn in June 2022 to $167.5bn in June 2026.
Mr. Kennett stated, “Now you’re approaching $200 billion – that’s New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania together.”
The IPA estimated that net debt would increase to $224 billion if Labor were re-elected and their Suburban Rail Loop project was implemented, with interest rates expected to increase fivefold by 2030.
Particularly younger Victorians would be repaying this debt for decades.
Mr. Kennett stated, “They will have to bear the weight that will be their legacy after eight years of this administration.”
Sydney, like Melbourne, was plagued by an increase of Covid cases caused by the Delta strain in 2021, and it too was placed under quarantine for many months.
Victoria will continue to experience budget deficits into 2026, when the state government spends more than it gets in income, whilst New South Wales anticipates a budget surplus by 2024.
The Department of Treasury and Finance of Victoria acknowledged that the state will have a budget deficit of $6.1 billion in 2025-26, compared to $13.1 billion in 2022-23.
The Institute of Public Affairs estimates that the lockdowns will leave a financial legacy of $218 billion, or $33,000 for each Victorian (pictured is a wheelchair crossing a tram track in July, 2020)
In comparison, New South Wales is projected to have a deficit of $11.3 billion in 2022-23 and a surplus of $601 million in 2024-25.
Despite being the second most populous state in Australia, Victoria ranks sixth among states and territories in terms of economic production.
Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, who governed the state from 1992 to 1999, stated that Melbourne’s lockdowns were so severe that they evoked recollections of communism in migrants who had left authoritarian countries.
Prior to twenty years ago, Victoria’s economic production per person exceeded the national average.
In June 2022, Victoria’s per capita gross state product was $78,544, which was significantly lower than the national average of $89,631.
Victoria was ranked sixth by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, after New South Wales and Queensland.
Mining-rich Western Australia led the pack with a per capita economic output of $146,422, surpassing the Australian Capital Territory’s per capita output of $102,334, due to its smaller size and highly compensated public servants.
Tasmania ($67,511) and South Australia ($71,180) were the only other states to trail Victoria.
Mr. Wild stated that, by multiple metrics, Victoria was the worst performing state in Australia.
‘On all critical financial indicators, Victoria is the nation’s worst performing state by a significant and growing margin, and the price will be paid by average Victorians,’ he said.
Lockdown measures have resulted in numerous health and financial harms, which have not yet been fully quantified but will be a significant ongoing cost of Victoria’s botched pandemic response.
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