Victoria’s budget deficit forecast has blown out by $500 million  (US$321 million) in 10 days after the state government spent up on flood recovery and a sports sponsorship deal before the election.
The Department of Treasury and Finance released the state’s Pre-Election Budget Update on Thursday, 10 days after Treasurer Tim Pallas unveiled the Victorian Economic Fiscal Update.
It shows Victoria is on track to post a deficit of $10.2 billion this financial year, up from the $9.7b estimate in the earlier report.
The rise has been put down to the Andrews government setting aside an extra $500 million to meet the “immediate needs of flood-affected communities and support the emergency response”….