Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Victoria is now “at war” after the state imposed stage four lockdown over the weekend, as coronavirus numbers stayed high. He said, “this is a real kick in the guts to Victorian businesses, which will have an impact on employment.
Frydenberg expected the overall impact of the pandemic to the economy to be larger than prior estimate of AUD 3.3B. “Obviously that 3.3 billion number was not based on stage 4 restrictions, nor was it based on restrictions being right across the state,” he said. “I will make that number available when it comes to me, but clearly this is going to hit the Victorian economy which makes up around a quarter of the national economy, and this will obviously impact on the consumer and business confidence more broadly.”
