Greens: budget does not address long-term challenges

Last Monday’s Budget, while containing a number of positive measures, was a lost opportunity, ADPD, the Green Party said.

The greens said Budget 2023 had failed to project a long-term view of the necessary changes needed to address the country’s upcoming challenges. “The Budget fails to offer a vision to mitigate the ever-increasing impact from climate change while the solution presented to make up for the rising cost of living is a weak proposition that does not face up to the real problem,” said chairperson Carmel Cacopardo.

Standing in front of parliament yesterday morning, ADPD deputy chairperson Sandra Gauci said the government had adopted an outdated policy that makes people dependent on low wages and hand-outs, without addressing underlying problems. “Instead of updating the way in which the minimum wage, and cost-of-living adjustment are worked out on a permanent basis, a special benefit to assist vulnerable persons was created.”

Cacopardo highlighted how the Budget speech failed to address climate change and its impact on the economy. “As an island state we are facing and will continue to face significant impacts as a result of climate change. The fact that the Budget almost completely ignored this issue means that the Minister of Finance does not yet understand the gravity of the situation.”

He said there was a lack of long-term vision on the impacts of climate change, in particular how this will affect our maritime and coastal infrastructure. “It is a Budget that does not have a long-term vision with suitable plans to address the environmental and social challenges for a better quality of life for all, with better use of the limited resources of our country.”