Victoria’s Shutdown to Weigh on Australian Economy

People queue up outside a Centrelink office for government payments in Melbourne on April 20, 2020. William West/AFP via Getty Images

Economists are busily adjusting their economic forecasts as a result of the tough measures taken by the Victorian government to try and put the lid on its COVID-19 outbreak.

Chief economist at consultants KPMG Brendan Rynne expects the stage four lockdown in Australia’s second largest state will see an $830 million economic output loss in August—a 2.5 percent decline.