Paying back the COVID-19 credit card will be a priority for the Victorian government in the upcoming state budget.
Premier Daniel Andrews maintains all of Labor’s election commitments will be delivered when the budget is handed down next week.
But he said the government needs to address the state’s growing debt, which is predicted to hit $166 billion (US$110 billion) by mid-2026.
The money borrowed during the COVID pandemic was not productive debt that made the economy bigger, Andrews said.
“It was like a COVID credit card,” Andrews told reporters on May 19.
“We borrowed in an emergency to save lives, save jobs and get through a terrible, terrible event.”…