Australian Economy

Victoria’s latest lockdown cost $1.3 billion

Leith van Onselen
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Victoria’s latest (fourth) hard lockdown was caused by two separate hotel quarantine breaches:

  • One in Adelaide whereby a returned traveller then carrying the virus into Victoria and the Novotel Ibis breach; and
  • The Novotel Ibis breach, which was traced to a returned traveller who arrived from Sri Lanka on 8 May and tested positive for the virus on the same day.

Now the economic cost of the lockdown has been revealed at $1.3 billion by Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas: $700 million over the fist week and $600 million over the second.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.