"It used to be that a huge multi-billion dollar blowout on a government project would have been a cause for self reflection and a significant trimming of project costs, but that now seems an unlikely scenario in Victoria," Tim Piper, Victorian Head of the national employer association, the Australian Industry Group, said today.
"With the Auditor General signalling an $11.6 billion increase in costs in one year on Victoria's major projects, there should be much hand wringing by the Government and moves to quickly deal with such outrageous cost increases.
"Instead, the Victorian Government has chosen to double down on the worst of the projects and shoot the messenger, the State's Auditor General.
"This reaction cannot become the norm. The Government cannot ignore the elephant in the room – the exploding debt burden is imperilling our State's long-term economic prospects and impacting on broader business confidence and investment.
"Victorians can't afford the State to be undertaking projects where the costs are allowed to balloon and not get a reaction from the State Government which reflects on the escalating costs and tells us how they will be reduced.
"These costs are causing financial pain for all sectors of the community, including government and business. The Victorian people deserve to know how and when or whether the Government intends to address our burgeoning debt crisis," Mr Piper said.
