PNG 2026 Budget Slammed as O’Neill Claims It Serves Politics Over People
Papua New Guinea’s former prime minister Peter O’Neill has launched a fierce critique of the 2026 National Budget, claiming the figures tabled in Parliament show a government more focused on the 2027 election than on national development. His comments follow a review of the fiscal plan and a comparison of key economic indicators between 2018 and 2026.
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| PNG 2026 Budget Slammed as O’Neill Claims It Serves Politics Over People |
O’Neill said the K30.9 billion budget handed down by the Treasurer was “not a national plan”—arguing instead that the government was preparing a political war chest while essential services continued to collapse. “More money, more empty promises, and more holes than a sieve,” he said, insisting the spending program would do little for infrastructure, health services or rural communities.
He said the country was now deeply dependent on foreign borrowing, pointing to the rise in public debt from K25 billion in 2018 to K65 billion in the 2026 forecast. He also noted the weakening of the Kina from an average of 30 US cents in 2018 to about 24 cents in 2025, saying purchasing power had fallen by more than 22 per cent. “In 2018, we had half the money to spend, our national debt was one-third of the present level, and your Kina bought 22% more than it does today,” he said.
O’Neill further accused the government of starving core services of funding while prioritising political machinery. He said churches were now delivering 70 per cent of medical care nationwide, a situation he described as a collapse of state responsibility. He cited UNAIDS data showing 75 HIV/AIDS deaths in 2019 compared to 3,400 in 2024, including 1,700 children under 14. “Whether it’s HIV/AIDS, TB, or simple illnesses, our people are dying—our children are dying—because big budgets and rising GDPs are not reaching the sick; they are only feeding the power-hungry appetite of James Marape.”
He also raised concern over the funding of Kumul 23, a special police unit he claimed was being built up with new weaponry while everyday policing lacked vehicles, tyres and fuel. He said the security allocation was designed to “intimidate and control our people” heading into the 2027 polls.
O’Neill urged the government to re-focus the budget and prioritise essential services, warning that six years of “lost opportunity” had left communities struggling to access medicine, facing higher costs of living and experiencing more violence. “I implore this government to immediately refocus the 2026 Budget on our people. After six years of lost opportunity and devastating decline, they deserve real attention and real action.”
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