10 postcodes covering 36 Melbourne suburbs will return to level three lockdown restrictions as the state takes drastic action in an attempt to handle its worsening coronavirus outbreak.

Professor Warren Hogan, one of the country’s leading economists and a Professor at the UTS Business School, says the situation reflects poorly on the Victorian government and health department.

“From an economic point of view, Victoria is already lagging and the data today shows its the standout weak performer in terms of jobs across the country, and that was before all of this,” Mr Hogan tells Brooke Corte.

“With another four weeks of some percentage of their city in some form of lockdown, this is only going to get worse,”

Mr Hogan points out that Melbourne doesn’t exist in a bubble, saying that Victoria’s problem is Australia’s problem.

“Victoria is an important market, and the reality is that our economy’s next phase of improvement is all our internal borders opening… and this has been a huge setback.”

Click play to hear the full interview: