During the delivery of the 2026 Budget in Parliament today, Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey pointedly attributed the inherited budget deficit to former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.

Treasurer Stuckey highlighted that, despite record levels of revenue and relatively low budget expenditures, the country faces a budget deficit of K1,607 million.
He explained that the government is still spending about K150 more per person than the country’s revenue.
Stuckey acknowledged that opposition critics believe this deficit is too high but emphasized that it has improved significantly compared to the inherited situation.
“This K150 per person deficit is better than the K520 per person deficit inherited from the Other Guy,” referring to O’Neill.
He further noted that the deficit per person under O’Neill was 250% higher than in the 2026 Budget.
The Treasurer confirmed that this high deficit figure was verified through thorough work, including assessments by international partners such as the IMF, which uncovered discrepancies in previous budgets.
Stuckey also criticized the previous administration for misusing the expected benefits of the PNG LNG project, which came online in 2014.
He accused O’Neill’s government of wasting this resource’s potential, citing the 2015 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) as evidence.