Family First's Jane Foreman says new warnings from ratings agency Moody's confirm what she has been saying all year — Victoria's spiralling interest bill is coming straight out of the services families rely on. With independent economists now saying state governments cannot be trusted to manage their own debt, Mrs Foreman says it is proof Victoria needs Family First as a check and balance in the Legislative Council.
A new report from ratings agency Moody's, revealed in the Herald Sun on 21 July 2026, has warned Victoria's interest payments could climb to 10 per cent of state revenue by 2030 — ten cents in every dollar Victorians pay in tax, gone before it reaches a hospital, a school or a police station.
Family First first sounded the alarm on Victoria's debt in May, when the state budget confirmed net debt will hit $199.3 billion by 2030 — $70,935 for every Victorian household. The Moody's report now confirms that burden is set to get worse, with international pressures, including the Middle East conflict, adding further strain to a budget already carrying interest costs set to almost double to $11.8 billion a year by 2030, or $32 million a day.
"This is the bill for a decade of Labor mismanagement, and Victorian families are the ones being left to pay it," said Mrs Foreman. "Every dollar swallowed by interest is a dollar that doesn't go to a hospital bed, a police officer or a classroom."
Independent economist Saul Eslake has now called for the federal government to strip Victoria and other states of control over their own borrowing, urging a return to the Loan Council system that operated until 1993. "The states have proven they cannot borrow responsibly," Mr Eslake said, warning Victoria will run cash deficits of around $31 billion over the four years to 2029-30.
"When independent experts are saying state governments can no longer be trusted with their own credit card, that's exactly why Victoria needs a strong check and balance in the Legislative Council," said Mrs Foreman. "Family First will hold this government to account and ensure responsible spending."
The scale of the problem was underlined this week when it was revealed that by 2030 Victoria will be spending more on interest repayments than it spends operating Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and every kindergarten in the state combined — a stark illustration of the services being sacrificed to service debt racked up under Premier Jacinta Allan.
"Labor got Victoria into this mess and clearly can't be trusted to get us out of it," said Mrs Foreman. "Victorians need MPs in the Legislative Council who will fight for a debt cap, demand real spending discipline, and put families ahead of Spring Street's addiction to borrowing."
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