If the government does not stop taxing the cost of living adjustment (COLA), then Budget 2025, which is set to be unveiled on Monday, will have been done for nothing, Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday during a political activity.

Grech continued that as part of the budget, the government is expected to announce a COLA increase due to the rise in prices since January. With that in mind, he commented that it is not just the case that this increase is coming ten months late, but he also expects that the government will continue taxing the COLA as well. "This means that it will continue robbing you of the increase that you have the right to because of the rising cost of living," he remarked.

The Opposition Leader stated that if the government does not include a measure to remove the tax on COLA in the budget, then he promises that a new nationalist government would do so. He continued that in order to help employers cope, the PN would give tax credits to employers and those who are self-employed so that they would also be able to continue investing in their business.

"While the current government clearly has no vision for health, education, the environment, or the economic model, for which it seems to simply keep adding on thousands of foreigners each year, we will show people what our targets and direction is so that together we can step towards a better quality of life."

As part of the political event, University of Malta Lecturer Dr Amy Camilleri Zahra spoke and focused on the importance of strengthening the social sector. She said that the sector is vast, but that the most important thing that politicians and policymakers need to understand is that when the social sector does not work or has problems within it, then the people who suffer the most are those who are most vulnerable and need assistance from the state.

Grech said that the PN is continually ongoing in a consultation process with social partners, experts, and NGOs, as well as others who are able to help the party better understand how to lead the country forward. He added that the PN believes in a continuous exercise to refresh its politics, as people are always moving forward and facing new challenges or opportunities.

The PN Leader commented that on the matter of quality of life, there needs to be political will to enact things. He remarked that the government has not just gone in the wrong direction, but is going on without any direction.

Josef Vella, the CEO of UHM Voice of the Workers, was also present at the event and spoke of the importance of the COLA no longer being taxed. He said that the UHM has been saying for a long time that this should not be the case, and added that if the government does not change this, then it is being "hard-headed".

With that said, Vella began speaking about the difficulty of raising children. He continued that members say they do not have the chance to raise children, and he said that this is affecting the country's demographics. "When we say that Malta has the lowest birth rate in Europe, it is not a joke."

Continuing on this point, he said that we cannot point our fingers and say that the birth rate is low, rather it needs to be understood why it is low. He said that there needs to be policies which strengthen the family.

Grech said that he has spoken of the importance not just to widen, but raise the parent rate.

Speaking on a matter which Vella had initially brought up, Grech questioned why trades in Malta are not sought after as much by students. He remarked that it is not just because the same opportunities that were available some twenty years ago are not anymore, but that it is because as a people, more value has been given to certain professions.

He said that it is important to have doctors and to invest and push for more health workers, but that value also needs to be given to handiwork so that students can enter into certain professions which are given value.

The Opposition Leader talked about the PN's chosen theme for the upcoming general council, with the theme being 'Malta Zaghzugha'. He continued that the PN is focusing on youth as the theme for the general council because Malta is a relatively young country, having become independent sixty years ago and becoming a republic fifty years ago.

He said that 'Malta Zaghzugha' means that the PN believes and is confident that the country can still grow and mature, but that it needs direction so that the country can move forward. He remarked that where others are just interested in money and their own pockets, the PN believes in the people's potential and the potential that Malta has to grow.