Work to continue on mass transit plans, Abela pledges in budget address

Updated 10.18pm with PN comments

Further studies on the mass transit system are in the pipeline, as is a tender for the purchase of the fourth Gozo ferry and salary bumps to government workers employed by contractors, Robert Abela said on Tuesday.

Speaking in parliament in reaction to the Opposition leader's budget address on Monday, the Prime Minister promised an "even better" budget next year, following what he called "the best budget in history" announced last week.

He said studies for the long-promised mass transport system are continuing in collaboration with international consultants ARUP.

The project, which he described as "the most ambitious project our country can aspire to," was complex, and stressed the need for meticulous planning, warning that "mistakes can cause the country to collapse".

He also promised fairer conditions for government workers who are not directly employed with the government, but are employed through a contractor.

Abela said those workers would receive increases to their salaries with arrears by the end of the year, to match the salary rises that government workers were awarded through their new collective agreement.

The PN had criticised the government several times over the issue, saying the discrepancy in their pay was unjust.

Gozo and the Grand Harbour

Abela also said the government would issue a tender for the fourth Gozo ferry in the coming weeks, and would open the master plan for the regeneration of the Grand Harbour to public consultation around the beginning of next year.

"One thing I want to leave to the people is the regeneration of the Grand Harbour, a project that is very close to my heart," he said.

Abela rejected Alex Borg's accusation on Monday that the government was hardly doing anything for the hobbies it professes to love.

Abela said the new horse racetrack in Marsa was almost complete and would be in use this month, while work on the racetrack in Ħal Far was ongoing.

In his address, he highlighted the budget's family-friendly measures and defended the government's economic record against Opposition criticism.

He did not shy away from political jabs, directly challenging Borg several times.

The PM accused Borg of trying to pass off the Child Trust Fund idea as original, claiming it was merely an "identical copy of the One Big Beautiful Bill announced in the US recently".

Abela sarcastically suggested Borg should at least "give President Donald Trump the credit for stealing his idea".

Tax cuts and pensions

Abela painted a stark contrast between Malta's fiscal approach and the austerity measures being adopted elsewhere in Europe.

"Governments in other countries are imposing budgets of austerity while we continue to increase jobs, stipends, pensions and social measures," he said.

He said this budget's €160 million tax cut, combined with last year's, will have left €900 million in families' pockets.

He also pledged further tax cuts and another rise for pensioners next year.

Abela countered the Opposition's claims on the country's debt, arguing that while critics alleged a tripling of the national debt, it was, in fact, the economy that had grown by three times, reflecting the government's success.

He also boasted of historically low unemployment and a trend of young people returning to Malta after having left years ago.

"Unemployment is lowest in history now, whereas it was the highest in history under a PN administration, and the young people who left the country under a PN government are returning to Malta now to take advantage of the many opportunities," he said.

Abela reminded listeners of the government's decision to give Gozo's Ħondoq ir-Rummien back to the people, and pledged to work with environmental NGOs to strengthen the protection of the bay while also transforming Manoel Island and the White Rocks compex into a massive national park.

'The economy can't pause'

"The economy can’t pause. We’re a force for progress, and we won’t stop as long as there’s still at least one family that needs our support," he said.

"We gave a lot, but we must continue to give more, and as long as we're in government, that's all people can expect from us."

He said the PN was unable to draft and publish a pre-budget document, let alone offer a credible financial path for the country.

"And they didn’t send feedback on the government’s Vision 2050. They missed the deadline, we gave them an extension, and they missed the deadline again," he said.

He also took a dig at Borg, who on Monday said pensioners were struggling to make ends meet.

"If you really listened to pensioners instead of just being obsessed with taking photos, you’d hear them say they have a higher pension than they ever had in your time," Abela said.

He went on to list the government's pension increases to several different groups, including widowers, and listed times he said the government had fixed anomalies and injustice in social security contributions.

Abela said the government was retaining the additional COLA mechanism for the families most in need.

"There are people receiving up to €1,500 extra every year from this measure, so that those who don’t enjoy economic growth directly can still reap its fruit," he said.

He hailed government assistance to families, businesses and increased stipends for Gozitan students studying in Malta.

'We can't get it wrong'

Abela emphasised the country could not afford to get it wrong, in a thinly veiled reference to the PN. 

"Experience and competence are crucial at the moment" in the "fragile global economic circumstances," he said, warning that "populism only spells trouble for the people".

"This budget is another confirmation that with us in government, the Maltese and Gozitan people can have peace of mind," he said.

Alex Borg: Abela is 'defending foreigners'

Addressing journalists outside Parliament following the sitting, Opposition leader Alex Borg said: “Instead of coming to Parliament to present a vision for a better Malta, the Prime Minister came only to attack me and to defend foreigners”.

“Today we saw a Prime Minister who was flustered and panicking, delivering a speech full of inaccuracies and, above all, one deliberately designed to attack me from start to finish”, Borg said.

In a subsequent statement, the PN said Abela’s speech “contained nothing but personal attacks and reactive rhetoric in response to the true vision presented yesterday in Parliament by the Partit Nazzjonalista”.

The party said Abela had used his speech for rhetoric rather than tackling traffic, overpopulation and rising living costs.

Alex Borg speaking outside Parliament following the PM's speech. Photo: PN.

“Instead of focusing on improving the lives of the Maltese and Gozitans, Robert Abela remains busy defending the foreigners who robbed us through the fraudulent hospitals' deal”, the statement read.

The PM “gave no solution” for recovering money from the hospitals' deal, failed to adopt the PN’s Child Trust Fund – allocating €5,000 to each child – and had not announced a consultation on a four-day work week.

Abela “failed to explain how this so-called 'best budget in history’ will improve people’s quality of life – more time, more breathing space, less traffic,” and “did not even accept the invitation of the Opposition Leader to work together... to plan and deliver a mass transport system”.

The party said it would continue advocating proposals to help people live a better life.