VICTORIA’S population numbers have recorded a significant decline, and this has been attributed to the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic by the State Government.

In Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures released last week, 28,240 people left Victoria through interstate migration between March and June, 2021, the largest number in any one quarter since ABS data began reporting in June 1981.

The figures also show that the state’s population to June 30, 2021, fell by 44,700 over the preceding 12 months.

Shadow treasurer David Davis has blamed the decline in Victoria’s population on the longest lockdowns in the country during the coronavirus outbreaks, causing a mass migration interstate.

“Victoria was the only state to record a fall in population, with a negative growth rate of -0.7 per cent,” he said.

In contrast, New South Wales’ population grew by 0.3 per cent, Queensland’s by 0.9 per cent, and Australia’s population overall, grew by 0.2 per cent.

Mr Davis also said that the Victorian economy had shrunk two years in a row with the state’s Gross State Product (GSP) falling in line with the state’s deficit, currently at $19.5 billion, with state debt projected to be at $162bn by the end of the budget forward estimates.

“Other states are continuing to recover and rebuild from COVID-19, but instead Victorians are facing more taxes, fewer jobs and more pain for families and small businesses” he said.