What more can I say. The financial mismanagement of Victoria is on full display according to S & P.
Daniel Andrews has almost bankrupted Victoria with a mismanaged infrastructure spend, overpaid public servants and fire fighters and a legislative agenda that reeks of spend, spend, spend as if its not their monety and certainly not Andrews' problem to pay it back.
This is profligacy on a grand scale.
It is incompetence of management on an even grander scale.
Never in the history of Victoria has an incompetent premier has overseen so many scandals and incompetence on such a scale.
See article below.
*************************************************************************************************** Victoria’s post-Covid fiscal position will be worst in the nation, S&P warns
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Sarah Matray
Victoria will emerge from Covid-19 with the weakest financial position among the states and territories and have triple the level of debt than before the pandemic, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings.
By contrast, Western Australia is set to exit the health crisis with budget surpluses and lower borrowing than in 2019, as the mining state banks the proceeds from a boom in iron ore exports and higher GST revenues.
Despite the generally dour fiscal outlook, S&P said high and climbing vaccination rates and the post-Delta rebound had put state and territory budgets “on a pathway to recovery”.
S&P credit analyst Rebecca Hrvatin said: “The operating performance of Australian states is improving after the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, as strong vaccine uptake reduces the risk of further lockdowns and government support.”
“The reopening of international borders will also help as migrants, workers, students, and tourists gradually return,” the report added.
The latest assessment from the influential ratings agency was finalised before the World Health Organisation on Friday declared the new Omicron variant as being “a concern”, triggering the reinstatement of some new health and travel restrictions.
As health authorities scrambled to understand the potential impact of the new mutation, Moody’s Analytics chief Asia-Pacific economist Steve Cochrane said: “Omicron reminds us that the global economic recovery remains tethered to the pandemic. We are broadly assuming there will be new waves of infections, but that each wave will be less disruptive to the healthcare system and economy than the previous one.
“If the variant turns out to be more contagious, virulent and disruptive … we will need to revise our economic outlook.”
The latest S&P report spells grim news for Victoria’s level of debt. Picture: Bloomberg
Leaving aside the potential complication of new Covid variants, S&P on Monday said “fiscal challenges remain” for Australian states and territories.
“We anticipate record infrastructure spending and lower revenue streams over the next decade,” the report stated, adding infrastructure commitments and the Covid-19 hit to finances would “drive debt to record levels”.
States’ and territories’ combined total debt will reach 159 per cent of operating revenues by 2024, up from 83 per cent in 2019, S&P has forecast. In dollar terms, debt will more than double in that time from $270bn to $588bn.
“We anticipate Victoria’s debt levels will rise the most, with debt more than tripling from 2019,” the report stated.
“Most other states will more than double their debt during the same period.”
The exception was WA, where debt was likely to fall to 80 per cent of operating revenues in 2024, from 91 per cent in 2019, “aided by strong iron ore royalties and higher GST revenues”.
Despite the massive additional debt pile, low interest rates would keep borrowing costs “manageable” at less than 4 per cent of revenues, S&P’s report stated.
The two most locked-down states, Victoria and NSW, were unlikely to regain their AAA credit ratings “in the next few years”, the report added.
S&P said Victoria had the weakest fiscal position and credit rating in the country.
Melbourne also holds the record of the world’s most locked-down city, at 262 days.
“Victoria continues to display structurally weaker budgetary metrics and a higher debt burden relative to domestic peers,” the report stated. “NSW’s debt burden is rising, although we believe there is sufficient headroom for this within the AA+ rating. Risks remain regarding the fiscal recovery of South Australia and the ACT. Queensland and Tasmania have emerged from the pandemic with relatively unscathed credit quality because they have benefited from fewer lockdowns.”
