Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has described the 2017 Budget as a national budget that maintains fiscal discipline.
He said the Government has been very careful to reduce expenditure where it could be sustained, while also continuing to invest in areas that are vital for ongoing economic and social development.
“The best budgets are not those that are delivered with an abundance of revenue to draw from, but are budgets that are delivered in tight fiscal times that also increase essential services.
“The difficult global economic environment with reduced commodity prices and uncertainty in key trading partners has placed pressure on our economy.
“Our Government has delivered on our core promises and I congratulate Treasurer, Hon. Patrick Pruaitch, and his budget team for the careful manner in which the 2017 National Budget has been developed.”
He said spending on our children and their education has risen to record levels and this will set our children up for success in years to come.
“Healthcare expenditure is a record levels and this will better protect our family members from sickness and help them recover from injury.”
O’Neill said the Government’s continued devolution of authority from Waigani to the provincial and district level will be further advanced in 2017.
He said as the economy prepares to return to surplus budgets in the coming years, lessons must be learnt from the reckless spending of the past decade when revenue from high commodities was high.
Meanwhile, the Opposition will be responding to the 2017 budget next Tuesday.
Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch handed down the 2017 K12.9 billion budget on Tuesday.