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Opposition leader refers to the State of the Nation's debt
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The Leader of the Opposition,Fabian Picardo, in replying to the Chief Minister’s Budget Speech, told Parliament: “As true patriots, we wish only to see a prosperous and socially just community where wealth is not the preserve of the few but the status of all those who aspire to work for it and a safety net is provided for those who cannot.”
However he stressed the State of the Nation was one where the National Gross Debt is up at £480m or almost £24,000 per voter; The National Net Debt is up at almost £220m or almost £11,000 per vote; and Social Insurance has risen 20 per cent in the past 4 years for workers (up to 38% over the past six years according to the Chamber of Commerce).
“The nation has had enough. The nation is let down by a Government that has not known how to resolve the plight of almost 400 unemployed. The nation is ready for a change of government,” he said.
And he added: “ The Government’s ideas have petered out. Their energy has petered out. The public are saying that its time for Peter to get out.“
He also reminded the Chief Minister there is as yet no appreciable decline in the housing waiting lists. Thousands of our people are waiting for homes. Thousands of our people are waiting for work to be done in government flats.
Despite the Chief Minister’s repeated mantra that the world wide slowdown and recession has not affected Gibraltar the Leader of the Opposition noted: “We all know that it has done so in many ways; in particular in the way that it has affected the retail distributive trade in Main Street.”
He continued: “But the growth rates we anticipated in our manifesto have clearly been proved to be possible and in our view the personal standard rates of tax – which would principally have favoured working people - would have been achievable. Hence had a GSLP/Liberal Chief Minister addressed Parliament today the standard rate of personal tax would have been announced to be 18 per cent. A GSLP/Liberal Chief Minister would today have also announced a reduced rate of personal tax down to 15 per cent. And what is more, as we set out in our manifesto, all the existing allowances - home owners, mortgage interest, life insurance etc - would have remained in place as deductions before arriving at the taxable income of individuals.”
On the GDC/Civil Service issue, Mr Picardo urged the Government to head the views of the GGCA and not to impose something that had been rejected by a ballot of Civil Servants. Mr Picardo said that the Opposition, in addressing the issues that arise in public sector reform have heard the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses, the various relevant Unions (namely Unite, the GGCA and the Teachers’ Association) and the Chamber of Commerce. He added : “Their positions are not irreconcilable; with imagination and goodwill on all sides, which I know that for the good of our community is there from all, I am sure that WITH THE RIGHT INVESTMENT, LISTENING TO THE GGCA, UNITE AND THE GTA, we can produce a better public service both in terms of service to the public and to businesses and in terms of the type of employer that the government is. And all of that without having to go ahead unilaterally and impose anything on anyone. That is NOT my style.”
He took the view that the glowing report card that the Chief Minister has given himself will fool no-one: “This cry of success the current Chief Minister makes is simply the call of the smug self satisfaction of the boy who marks his own exam paper and tells the world he has done so well. The long and the short of it is that after 3 long years of ‘Take, Take, Take’, the public will not be fooled by one year of some ‘Give’.”
Mr Picardo observed: "Over the coming days ministers and their shadows will address Parliament on their shared portfolios. Then, later this week, the Chief Minister will make his reply and the Leader of the Opposition has warned voters to expect – as usual – no more than a barrage of insults and innuendos which avoid the issues raised.
"I will expect nothing less from the Honourable Member. Being an election year, I would have thought that he will want to denigrate, insult and attempt to humiliate us even more than last year.”
05-07-11
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