Statement - Labor hides how they spent billions on COVID

Statement – Labor hides how they spent billions on COVID 

James Newbury, Shadow Attorney-General

Thursday, 22 October 2026

A damning new Auditor-General’s report has exposed Labor spent almost $40 billion on COVID, including hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable grants, massive waste and a Labor Government more worried about its reputation than protecting taxpayers’ money.

What’s worse is the Auditor-General has found that the almost $40 billion dollars of spending was not transparent nor was the public able to clearly see how the money was spent.

The report reveals now-Treasurer Colin Brooks was briefed in February 2025 about at least $320 million in potentially ineligible COVID-19 grants and his department’s decision not to pursue further recovery efforts. In short, hundreds of millions of dollars was thrown away.

Subsequent advice to ministers explicitly raised concerns about the potential damage to the government’s reputation.

The Auditor-General has also revealed:

• $72.5 million in incorrectly paid COVID-19 grants have been written off as unrecoverable.
• The Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions abandoned further case-by-case investigations into $253 million in high-risk COVID-19 grant payments.
• $777.2 million worth of COVID-19 supplies have been written down by the Department of Health.
• Eight of ten government departments failed to properly track whether COVID-19 supplies were used, expired or thrown away.

Shadow Attorney-General, James Newbury, said: “The findings are another damning indictment of Labor’s waste, mismanagement and failure to protect taxpayers’ money.

“Ben Carroll promised that integrity would not be optional. Colin Brooks told Victorians he respected their money. Today’s report proves those promises are hollow.

“Colin Brooks was warned about hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable grants. His department walked away from further checks and millions have been written off.

“Labor was more worried about saving its reputation than saving taxpayers’ money.

“At a time when Victorian families are struggling to pay the bills, Labor spent almost $40 billion dollars on COVID without any clear public reporting on how that money was spent.

“Every dollar Labor wastes is a dollar that cannot be spent fixing our hospitals, repairing our roads or easing the pressure on household budgets.

“Colin Brooks must explain what he did when he was briefed, why further investigations were abandoned and why protecting Labor’s reputation was raised in advice about recovering taxpayers’ money.

“Ben Carroll can change the Premier, but he cannot change Labor’s record.

“After 12 years of Labor, the waste keeps growing, the debt keeps mounting and Victorian families keep paying the price.”

“Only a Jess Wilson-led Liberal and Nationals Government will bring an end to Labor’s waste, restore integrity and put the interests of Victorian taxpayers first.”