Victoria is an economic sinkhole

Thursday 27 February 2025

The latest annual state accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that Victoria’s per capita GDP declined by 1.2% in 2023-04, and it has only increased by 10.4% since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008.

This compared with a 1.0% national decline in per capita GDP in 2023-24 and a 14.5% gain since 2008.

Victoria’s poor GDP growth occurred despite its households raiding their savings far more aggressively than households in other jurisdictions.

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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.