Victoria's budget will include "exciting" and "targeted" policies amid optimism its labour market can rebound by Christmas and provided its second COVID-19 wave is contained, Premier Daniel Andrews says.
Mr Andrews says the strength of the Victorian budget will be used to protect household budgets and support jobs.
Though no date has been announced for delivery of the financial blueprint, he said Victoria would take advantage of the historically low cost of borrowing to repair the unprecedented damage of COVID-19.
"The cost of borrowing is but a fraction of the cost of long-term unemployment in human terms and in financial terms," Mr Andrews said on Sunday.
"So we'll have some very big, exciting, targeted, tailored and innovative policies to announce and very significant investment decisions to announce as part of a jobs plan in our forthcoming budget."
But Mr Andrews has remained tight-lipped about how much of the near $25 billion the Victorian government has been authorised to borrow over the next two years will be drawn on.
The premier said the date to hand down the 2020/21 budget is yet to be finalised and details on borrowings would be revealed at that time.
Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien rejected suggestions Victoria would bounce back from the impact of the second coronavirus wave.
"We've been dealt a blow that no other state in the country has been dealt," he said.
"This is going to cost a lot of people a lot of jobs in a lot of businesses for a long time."
Australian Associated Press
