There was the recession we had to have, and now there's the one we couldn't avoid, thanks to an invisible virus that has been wreaking havoc on our economy since March.
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The deadly COVID-19 continues its unpredictable path of destruction throughout Australia, and indeed the world, placing health systems and economies under incredible pressure and strain.
Just how much strain was confirmed yesterday by Treasurer Josh Frydenburg, who revealed the pandemic has so far cost our nation more than $160 billion, and we all know, there's a long way to go before the situation is under control.
And while the death toll from COVID-19 here in Australia remains relatively low compared to many other nations, none of us ever want to see any lives lost.
The financial data that is the fallout from COVID-19 are scary, to say the least. A deficit this financial year of at least $184.5 billion.
Most commentators agree, it will likely be closer to $200 billion in October when the government produces its next major economic statement.
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Worryingly, our nation's gross debt is predicted to surpass the federal government's own limit of $850 billion within another 18 months or so.
These are not numbers for the faint-hearted, but they need to be acknowledged, and so too our shared responsibility to help bring things back to a more manageable state of affairs, both economically, and importantly, from a health perspective.
More than 160,000 Victorians are out of work, and many more cling to JobKeeper and JobSeeker support payments as their employer tries to ride out the pandemic.
The state's deficit has soared to almost $8 billion, in stark contrast to the predicted surplus of about $1 billion unveiled by Treasurer Tim Pallas back in May 2019.
No one can blame either the state or federal government for something none of us saw coming.
But we can, and must, do whatever we can to claw back control of our health system, our economy and our way of life in the months and years ahead.
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