Victorians finally wake up to the enormous cost of brutal lockdowns

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• By Avi Yemini

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Victoria’s prolonged and harsh lockdowns, once touted by media and authorities as a necessary response to the Covid-19 pandemic, are now being recognised as a political and economic misstep, leaving the state in a dire financial state.

A leading credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), has pointed to these lockdowns as a significant contributor to Victoria’s worsening fiscal health.

🚨Victorians finally wake up to the ENORMOUS cost of the world's longest and most brutal lockdowns

Never forget how the government and their bought and paid for media condemned me for raising the alarm at the height of all the madness.

Full story: https://t.co/SsaBvkgzpt pic.twitter.com/1p95pHzqH9

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) August 21, 2024

Anthony Walker, S&P’s director of government ratings, didn’t mince words when discussing the state’s current predicament.

"It was only five or six years ago when Victoria had the best financial outcomes, and that was before Covid," Walker said, highlighting that "the prolonged lockdowns and the number of lockdowns during Covid were the key that drove this."

The financial consequences of these lockdowns are now impossible to ignore. Despite government claiming to focus efforts on health outcomes, Walker noted that the lack of consideration for the economic fallout has led to a "massive fiscal shock" from which Victoria is still struggling to recover.

As the state grapples with the ballooning costs of major projects like the Suburban Rail Loop, the threat of a further downgrade to Victoria’s credit rating looms large. Such a downgrade would push borrowing costs even higher, adding further strain to an already overstretched budget.

The public is increasingly questioning whether the government’s authoritarian approach during the pandemic was worth the long-term damage.

Meanwhile, the repercussions of Victoria's strict Covid-19 lockdowns are being felt beyond the financial sector, with a significant rise in youth crime adding to the state's woes.

Victoria's Police Commissioner Shane Patton has linked the surge in offences committed by young people directly to the extended lockdowns, suggesting that the social isolation and disruption caused by the pandemic have had a profound impact on the state's youth.

Patton highlighted a disturbing trend where young offenders are escalating quickly from minor infractions to serious crimes, something that was rarely seen before the pandemic.

"Prior to the pandemic, we weren't seeing this zero to 100 offending – 'I'm a cleanskin, who's gone to committing the most serious of crimes,'" Patton explained. The Commissioner pointed to a "post and boast" culture among youth offenders, driven by a desire for notoriety, as a new and troubling development.

The lockdowns, Patton suggested, may have disrupted the formative years of a generation, leaving some young people without the guidance and structure they needed.

This disruption has contributed to a 30% increase in offences by 14 to 17-year-olds, making 2023 the worst year for youth crime in Victoria since 2009.