Abela pledges increases to children’s allowance and in-work benefits

A new Labour government would increase children’s allowance for low and average income families, while further strengthening in-work benefits, Robert Abela said on Sunday.

Abela was speaking in Naxxar, where Labour held its second mass rally of the week-old electoral campaign.

Introduced to a flurry of fireworks, Abela said the government would continue to strengthen workers’ rights and benefits for those in need.

In his speech, Abela pointed to several pledges made through the first week of the campaign, including measures to help first time buyers get on the property ladder, stipend increases and free therapy for those in need.

However, much more was to come throughout the campaign, Abela promised.

“In this legislature we increased children’s allowance far more than we had initially promised,” he said. “But families with a low and average income can expect more increases”.

Meanwhile, the in-work benefit scheme, a cash grant given to parents in employment, will also be boosted, Abela promised.

“We need to continue investing in our families and workers,” Abela said.

Throughout his speech, Abela pitched Labour as “the agent of change,” pointing to the party’s introduction of a wellbeing index within its as-yet-unpublished electoral manifesto.

He said the party would continue to fight for people’s trust, saying he disagreed with those who argued that this is Labour’s election to lose.

“I completely disagree with that argument, Labour always had to pave its own way,” Abela argued.

Turning to “my friend Omar Rababah,” whose announcement that he would stand as a PL candidate was met with a wave of Islamophobia, Abela said “thank you for your courage, we are behind you”.

Abela promised the coming week would feature several new pledges, including a “new concept of sea transport”.

The incumbent prime minister also encouraged people to not become complacent in the face of a survey that indicates a comfortable win for the Labour Party.

Abela called on his supporters to convince undecided voters to go for Labour. 

Also addressing the rally, MEP Daniel Attard described Prime Minister Robert Abela as Malta’s “leader of steel,” guiding the country through the international crisis spurred by the war in the Gulf.

Turning to voters saying they were unsure over whether to vote in this month’s election, Attard said Labour is the only party putting their needs above all else.

“Are you sure that other governments will present budgets without new taxes or not cut subsidies as the EU is pushing for?” Attard said.

“Over the past year, some people wanted to crucify me,” Attard said, in a veiled reference to his alleged role in an EU probe into Huawei.

“Did any of them apologise? Of course not,” he added, saying Labour did not endorse “a politics of hate”.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, who also addressed the rally, asked the crowd whether they wanted Robert Abela or PN Leader Alex Borg to "answer the call at the time of the country's greatest challenges". 

Camilleri drew a parallel between Abela and Borg across various sectors, saying Abela had successfully navigated the country through delicate moments, from the pandemic to the recent saga of a Russian tanker floating across the Mediterranean.