Broke Victoria shirks infrastructure responsibilities

With the Victorian government drowning in debt and facing further credit rating downgrades, the Labor state government is seeking to rein in costs.

Recent infrastructure projects in Victoria have faced major cost blowouts, including the VNI West transmission line (doubling to $7.6–11.4 billion), the Suburban Rail Loop (announced to cost $50 billion, now more than $200 billion), the North-East Link (initially announced at $6 billion, now $26 billion), and widespread overruns across schools, transport upgrades, and prisons.

The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) found $11.66 billion in cost overruns in 2024 alone, across more than 100 projects.

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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.