The 2020 lockdowns in Victoria led to a pay rise of $1,500 for the average public servant while the average private sector worker lost $1,200 in wages, according to analysis released today by think tank the Institute of Public Affairs.

The analysis, which was covered in today’s edition of the Australian Financial Review, is based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the 2020 June and September quarters, which captures the entire first and most of the second lockdown in Victoria.

“The disconnect between the public and private sectors explains why Victoria keeps going into lockdowns. The public servants who implement lockdowns do not bear any cost for making these decisions,” said Cian Hussey, Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.

“Lockdowns are the consequence of Victoria’s elimination strategy, which clearly does not work,” Mr Hussey said.

“The Andrews Government and the rest of the public sector have been almost entirely insulated from the economic consequences of lockdowns. In fact, they were given pay rises while over 240,000 Victorians were put out of work.

“Private sector workers, small business owners, and lower income individuals and families in particular, pay an enormous price each time the Andrews Government places them into lockdown.

“Each time the Andrews Government places Victorians into lockdown, they are knowingly inflicting an economic and humanitarian tragedy which disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable members of our society,” he said.

Previous IPA research found that the job losses caused by lockdowns are disproportionately borne by lower income earners and younger Australians.

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