A couple of weeks ago the government published the Pre-Budget Document. This is the fourth time that such a document has been published. It is intended to stimulate a consultation process in preparation for the presentation of the Budget (which is essentially the government's fiscal policy document) of the following year. Unfortunately, this year the publication of this document happened at a time when attention was diverted to other issues, such as the public transport strike, the privatisation of the shipyard and the increase in the electricity surcharge.

The main thrust of the document should come as no surprise as it continues on the same theme highlighted in the President's speech at the opening of Parliament, namely the need to work for a sustainable future. The various policies mentioned in the Pre-Budget document are intrinsically linked to this national sustainable development strategy and the government's other declared intention of turning Malta into a centre of excellence in a number of areas. There is very little to contradict in this vision; the difficulty will always lie in putting this vision into practice. This is why this consultation process prior to the Budget has become a necessity.

The international context is a critical factor in this regard. Any meaningful consultation process must take into account and must be based on what is happening beyond our shores. It should be a recognised fact that our economy is highly vulnerable to international developments, over which we have little to no control, and the country's sustainability from a social, economic and environmental perspective must always be placed within this context. The need to adapt to changing circumstances is of paramount importance if we are to maintain our comparative advantage in a number of areas. The issues that we need to address and over which there may be disagreement are what change is required and how we manage the change process.

Part of this change process is the government's fiscal package that incorporates taxes and subsidies. Subsidies during this year for the shipyards, bread, electricity, public transport, the Valletta park and ride scheme and liquid propane gas will amount to just under €62 million. However, these subsidies have to be aided for by the taxpayer, apart from encouraging waste and creating market inefficiencies. The government has openly stated that its preference is to reduce, if not cut off, all subsidies, while introducing a series of tax cuts, covering both income tax and taxes that had been introduced on things like travel and credit cards.

This does not mean that the government would be shirking its responsibility to help those who are really in need.

Thus a review of a number of social benefits within a scenario of increasing prices for energy products and foodstuffs would be in order; keeping in mind that only those families that really need such help should get it. So when we speak of change and how to manage the change process, we need to speak of the mix of the various components of government income and government expenditure. We need to find the appropriate mix that supports economic growth, while working towards the target of achieving a budget surplus by 2010.

The Pre-Budget Document for 2009 puts forward the need to look into the future and the nature of the changes that are required to be made to make that future more sustainable for ourselves and for future generations. On this basis I strongly believe that what we need as a country is not people sitting on the fence waiting for the government to make decisions, but proposals on how to achieve our vision, on which we all agree, in the best possible way.