Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech said that the 2024 Budget showed that the government bases its economic model on increasing the population - something which has contributed to the decline of Malta’s quality of life.

“A politics of doubling the population,” Grech said while addressing parliament on Monday evening in his official reaction to the Budget.

Grech began his speech by reflecting on the last decade under a Labour government and noted the government’s lack of respect for good governance with no intention to improve the life of the Maltese people.

He said that the government was only interested in an economy of cheap labour which has rapidly increased the country’s population. This economic model has not only failed Maltese workers but also foreign workers, Grech said, as they are treated as slaves.

Grech pointed out that although this is supposed to be the government of the workers, it has failed workers with burdens and low wages.

Grech said that, unlike the government, the PN intends on strengthening Malta’s economy and democracy which will benefit the people instead of a few people in power. He pledged that the PN has no intention of basing its economic model on importing cheap labour, and that instead it will invest in the people and its institutions.

Very early on in the speech and later on, Grech brought up how the Opposition has been proposing the qualities of Environmental, Social and Governance for businesses for a number of years. However, the government always turned this proposal down out of fear that it would result in businesses having extra costs – but then chose to implement it after the last election.

Grech added that the government should act as an example and also function according to these values, unlike the way the government currently functions.

In light of the lack of good governance, Grech said that this government has tainted the reputation of Malta which has individually affected each and every Maltese person. Grech noted how, ironically, 10 years ago the government spoke about implementing a culture of resignations, however, Grech pointed out that there were people within the parliamentary chambers who are currently linked to scandals but are yet to resign.

A major topic Grech brought up was how Malta’s public debt has almost reached €10 billion. Grech further said that Finance Minister Clyde Caruana’s projections showed that this legislature would have created more debt than all previous legislatures since Malta’s independence.

This debt makes Malta an unattractive place for investment, Grech argued. He also quoted the Chamber of SMEs who said that the government should be more focused on fixing the situation rather than blaming businesses.

Grech wanted to make it clear that this debt was not because the government made large capital investments to improve the quality of life or government subsidies, but was because the people in power were too busy pigging out.

When mentioning the high cost of living, he said that the government has simply given up on addressing this issue. On the contrary, he said that the PN has listened to what the people want and has proposed solutions such as not taxing the cost of living adjustment (COLA), implementing a  national fund for importation, and a new economic model that gives importance to quality work.

Among those suffering due to the high cost of living are the elderly, Grech noted. However, he expressed his disappointment as they were forgotten in the 2024 Budget. The pension is still not high enough and there is still a shortage of medicines in the hospital, Grech said.

With regard to the health sector, Grech scrutinised the government for still not building a mental health hospital after years of promising this and choosing to “forget” mentioning it in the Budget.

Tied with the health sector, he once again reminded listeners of the Vitals-Steward hospitals concession agreement which cost the Maltese population €400 million. Following the latest court judgment that dismissed Steward Health Care’s appeal against the decision to annul the hospitals' privatisation deal, Grech reiterated how this further shows how the government did not act in the interest of the people, but instead, acted complicit in this deal.

In the Budget, Grech said, the government did not mention anything which intended to reduce the time of operations. Quoting the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, Grech said that Mater Dei is not equipped to handle the demand with the increase in the population.

When discussing traffic, he said that the government has also given up on addressing this issue. To add to this, Grech scrutinised Prime Minister Robert Abela for stating that the metro is not a government priority, instead, Grech accused the government of only being interested in saving money for the next election.

Grech further slammed the government for the license scandal which has placed inexperienced drivers on the road making it more dangerous.

Also, due to a lack of planning, Grech said that the government are wasting EU funds on repaving roads. Most notably, he mentioned how the government had to do this during summer when there were major blackouts all across the island.

On this topic, Grech scrutinised the lack of electricity distribution to homes and pledged that the PN will be focused on making sure that Malta’s infrastructure is improved to make sure electricity is distributed to everyone.

Speaking about the importance of having a good environment, Grech noted how it was important to implement green open spaces for families to enjoy. He linked improving the quality of life to improving people’s mental health overall.

He further questioned whether the plans to roof the Santa Venera tunnels with a park or pedestrianize St Anne Street in Floriana were going to happen since the government has yet to act on these promises.

To improve the environment, Grech said that the government should give more power to the local councils which will actively work towards more open spaces and better waste management. On this point, Grech expressed his disappointment that the government did not even mention waste management in the Budget.

On education, Grech quoted unions, the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the Union of Professional Educators (UPE) and said that the Budget showed no vision for education. Grech also noted that there was a lack of ideas that would cater for students with disabilities.

Taking a dig at the government, he said that simply painting a school that has been standing for 50 years does not mean that the government has built a new school.

Grech also brought up the police and spoke about how they deserve more investment to strengthen the police as they are currently overworked.

He also took the opportunity to slam police commissioner Angelo Gafa for protecting those in power and not doing his job to achieve justice. Grech added that the government is only interested in controlling the Attorney General so that she does not take action against the people in power.

When discussing Gozo, Grech simply said that this island has been forgotten as there is a lack of investment in upkeeping the environment. However, he pledged that the PN is the party of Gozo.