Stubborn government refuses to pay down some of what it owes

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Reality is biting the Victorian budget. To be precise, it is taking a $50 billion chomp out of the money this government has, and the one that follows will have to pay for the services and infrastructure people need.

This huge figure is the cumulative interest the state must pay back this financial year and over the next four years on the money borrowed by the Andrews and Allan governments.

This year’s bill is $7.85 billion. By 2029-30, it is forecast to be $11.8 billion. There are plenty of numbers in the state budget handed down on Tuesday but, for now, let’s stick with these.

The cost of repaying debt, over the forward years of the budget, increases by 50 per cent.

It is the fastest growing line item of expenditure in the budget, with daylight second. It is growing at 2½ times the rate of debt. More on this later.

Treasurer Jaclyn Symes describes her second budget as a........

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