MELBOURNE (Standard & Poor's) July 13, 2005--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today affirmed its 'AAA/A-1+' ratings on the Australian State of Victoria. The outlook is stable. "The state sits comfortably within the 'AAA' rating category," said Danielle Westwater, credit analyst, Standard & Poor's Sovereign & International Public Finance Ratings group. "Extra spending has led to a weakening of finances, but Victoria's strong balance sheet provides a degree of slack for carrying both extra debt and a mildly weaker operating position." Victoria's strong forecast liquidity, robust economic structure, and strong balance sheet contribute to the state's high credit quality. In particular, Victoria's net debt is very low by international standards, including any borrowing to part fund the state's A$10 billion infrastructure
