Victorian government jobs will be slashed in state budget to rein in Covid debt, analysts predict

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews told parliament last week that getting to a surplus will require ‘some challenging decisions’. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Victoria’s mounting debt burden will force the Andrews government to scythe staffing levels and delay costly rail projects to avoid a further deterioration of finances, analysts predict.

The state, which accounts for about a quarter of Australia’s economy, has “a very weak” budget outlook compared with other states, S&P Global Ratings analyst Anthony Walker says.