Original article by Anthony Galloway, Damon Johnston, Lily McCaffrey
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-May-26

The Victorian government’s budget papers show that an operating surplus of $727m is expected for 2025-26. This will rise to $1bn in 2026-27, well below the forecast of $1.9bn in the mid-year budget in December. However, the 2026-27 cash deficit – which takes into account expenditure such as infrastructure projects – is slated to be $7.7bn, although the previous forecast was $9.7bn. Meanwhile, yesterday’s state includes $13.8bn worth of new spending, while net debt is forecast to reach $199.3bn in 2030. Interest payments on this debt are expected to rise from $6.8bn in 2024-25 to $11.8bn by 2029-30.

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