stimulus packages worldwide, page-57

how much responsibility for underspending in infrastructure and health should be attributed to state governments? I would say a fair bit.

Take Victoria as a mediocre example of this (NSW is obviously an extreme basket case) during the past few years:

record pokie (and other gambling) revenues

record stamp duty revenues during the property boom

record GST revenues

and what do we have to show for it now the boom times are over?

good water infrastructure? no

good road infrastructure? at best mediocre and privately funded via toll roads

good public transport? no

good healthcare and education? no



To say the Feds were to blame for underspending in infrastructure is to ignore the incompetence at state level when things were as good as it gets.