31 May 2007

Mr. Speaker,

We give thanks to the Almighty that he has kept you, the Lords of the Nobility, the Ministers of the Government and those chosen to represent the People in his care in the past.

We are grateful that progress has been made in rebuilding our capital city and although there has been little physical evidence which can be perceived from the outside, the long and involved process of planning is under way with the different authorities charged with this task.

The reconstruction is the largest public works programme to have been adopted by Our Government for the next five years and it shall require the cooperation and active support of the parliament in providing the necessary legal framework to facilitate this process.

Security of lives and property shall be of primary importance in the design and we are grateful for the assistance which friendly countries, according to their means, have been able to offer through different services. Our Government, therefore, as an initial step in securing the necessary financing for the reconstruction, has negotiated the first of several loans with the People’s Republic of China. 

We look forward to the employment opportunities which these works shall provide for our people and enterprises.

Government reserves have been severely strained by the civil service wage and redundancy settlements but Our Government has seen the urgency of revitalising the economy and, in spite of the disruptions last year, the economy remains more robust than at first expected and this is due to the strength and confidence of the private sector. We expect a positive growth in the economy in the next financial year and our foreign exchange reserves have stabilised at the equivalent of 4 months of imports. Our government shall introduce new tax and customs legislation this year designed to boost our economic growth rate by implementing private sector-led growth initiatives.

The main areas of focus shall be Tourism, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Fisheries and Infrastructure. To this end, a private initiative has concluded with the commitment by important foreign investors to invest in a Resort Hotel in Vava’u.

Our Government’s Foreign Policy for the past 100 years has been founded on the cultivation of friendly relations with every nation and respect for the conventions of diplomatic practice which govern the exchanges between civilised countries. We have established Diplomatic missions to the Court of St. James, the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. As there is now a growing number of our people who have migrated to both the Commonwealth of Australia and to New Zealand, Our Government intends to establish similar Diplomatic Missions in Canberra and Wellington respectively.

Our Government attaches much importance to reforming our education system which, as one of the longest established compulsory education systems in the Pacific, is one of the bequests left us by His Late Majesty King George I. Over the years though, our countries circumstances and population have undergone such rapid changes that the original framework is no longer adequate for the demands of the modern age. Our Government shall therefore consider lowering the starting age from 6 to 5 years old and raising the leaving age to 18. It is the intention that within the next 3 years, 60% of school leavers shall be accepted into institutions of higher learning, technical and vocational training and within 5 years, 90%. The mechanics of this new policy shall be announced with the intention that the new system be introduced in 2008.

In commending you to the care of Almighty God, I wish to reassure you of the support of all the forces at the disposal of our Government in your difficult task of guiding the deliberations of the house as well as preserving its dignity.


King George Tupou V