Ian Ling-Stuckey

In a statement, Shadow Minister and Kavieng MP, Ian Ling-Stuckey, said so much has been spent on a Port Moresby centred APEC – now was the time to deliver the policies that could tap into all of the potential benefits of APEC and distribute them throughout PNG.

Shadow Minister for Treasury & Finance, Ian Ling-Stuckey, said there are three very good aspects of this plan.

“First, the plan goes back to a more inclusive approach to growth. The failings of a resource-focused approach to development is finally recognised,” said the Shadow Minister, who is also Kavieng MP.

“The resource sector has thrived in this country since Independence while its people have generally suffered from a lack of attention – this is not suggesting it is the fault of the sector.

Ian Ling-Stuckey wishes to present a unified front to the countries attending APEC however, for this to happen, he has asked for three pieces of verified information to increase the people’s confidence in some recent economic claims.

“First, going to the heart of budget honesty, can you release a statement of how much has been received as of 30 September 2018 from the National Fisheries Agency?” Ling-Stuckey said.

The Shadow Minister for Treasury and Finance, Ian Ling-Stuckey, said the Treasurer is not admitting that a sovereign bond is now the wrong path for fixing the foreign exchange crisis crippling PNG’s economic growth.

Ling-Stuckey was responding to the Deputy PM and Treasurer, Charles Abel’s trip after leading the international roadshow to market PNG’s first ever sovereign bond.

Basing his statement on a recent World Bank report, Ian Ling-Stuckey said one of the great mistruths of the People’s National Congress government is the claim that they have introduced a new free health care policy.

He said this when responding to Kavieng MP, Ian Ling-Stuckey, why there were more Pacific Islanders taking up the Seasonal Workers Program than Papua New Guineans.

The Prime Minister said one of the issues affecting the country’s participation in the program was the visa issue.

The Kavieng MP said since the inception of the Seasonal Workers Program in 2008, PNG participation has not increased, compared with the other Pacific Island nations.

The Shadow Treasurer said this in Parliament on Tuesday when asking the Treasurer, Charles Abel, on funding earmarked for health services, which Ling-Stuckey claims have not been released.

He also called the revenue forecasts in the 2018 Budget as fake.

The Shadow Treasurer once again questioned the credibility of the figures the Government presented, this time in the 2018 MYEFO Report.

He asked Abel to confirm or deny that the Government was struggling to generate revenue to meet its commitments, claiming health services are not being met.

This was the statement issued by the Kavieng District Development Authority at the grand launching of several banana boats and 40 HP engines at Bagail beachfront in Kavieng town last Thursday.

Shadow Treasurer and Member for Kavieng, Ian Ling-Stuckey, said water transport received only K13 million in 2017, only 2 percent of all transport sector spending, while road transport received 81 percent and air transport 17 percent of transport funding.

The announcement was made at the launching and handover-takeover of a 3.5 tonne truck at the Lakurumau Primary School in the Tikana LLG area last week by the Member for Kavieng and Shadow Treasurer, Ian Ling-Stuckey.

“The seasonal worker program seems to be a win-win-win-win policy for all four stakeholders, the PNG worker, the Australian employer and both the PNG and Australian governments,” Ling-Stuckey stated.

“Economic academics from both the University of Papua New Guinea and the Australian National University say that the PNG economy had negative growth of 5.9 percent in 2015 in the non-resource sections of the economy,” Ling-Stuckey said in a statement.

“This is an extraordinary result confirming the economy went badly backwards. It would confirm what business people and the people of PNG have known for years – 2015 was a year of severe recession in PNG.