'Victoria is becoming the economic sink hole of Australia'

As Victorians cope with the new COVID-19 lockdown, the big question for many is when will it end.

Former Premier Jeff Kennett said "Victoria is becoming the economic sink hole for Australia" as a result of being shut down by the virus multiple times.

He said he expects Victorians are in for "some bad news" as the end of the current lockdown looms.

READ MORE: Where to get mental health help during Victoria's snap lockdown

"I think sadly there will be an extension announced between now and Thursday," he told A Current Affair host Leila McKinnon.

Mr Kennett said it would be better for Victorians to know sooner rather than later about whether the lockdown would be extended.

"If it's not going to re-open, people have got to be prepared," Mr Kennett said. 

READ MORE: Will Victoria's lockdown be extended?

The former premier said he's had calls from struggling business owners who can't afford to pay staff.

He said he also received a call yesterday from a fed-up restaurant owner of 30 years who was in tears.

"Financially he's broke, emotionally he's exhausted," Mr Kennett said.  

READ MORE: Victoria records three new local COVID cases as lockdown end date in doubt

As well as emotional and economic losses, Mr Kennett said there were dislocation costs from the lockdowns.

"Mothers trying to educate their children at home, children not getting access to education, not only for academic reasons but also for social interaction that comes from being at school," he said. 

With estimations the lockdowns in Melbourne have already cost the economy around $1 billion, Mr Kennett believes even more businesses will close if it drags on.

The former premier said Victoria is also now losing its population to the rest of Australia.

"The government in their budget has just announced a whole range of tax increases which will be a very real disincentive to businesses coming to Victoria.

"You can't keep locking the state down. Businesses are closing, and the government says well the way to address that is to put new taxes on those businesses that are still surviving. It's shear ludacy (sic).

"We're the only state that's had four lockdowns and we were in lockdown for most of last year."

Mr Kennett blamed the state's administration for not learning from previous mistakes, including on contact tracing.

He called the administration "so pathetically unprofessional".

And when it came to vaccinations, Mr Kennett said things should have moved faster.

"Victoria, maybe Australia has been very complacent about this issue of vaccination. If we want to protect ourselves, if we want to protect our families, if we want to protect our communities, we should all be vaccinated," he said.

He said the constant isolation has impacted people's mental health too and particularly for those such as restaurant and business owners who've had to close their doors.

He said they're the ones who are suffering "the greatest depth of stress, anxiety and worse". 

If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via lifeline.org.au.

In an emergency, call 000.