TELEVISION TALK ON THE BUDGET
GIVEN BY THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY ON WEDNESDAY,
2nd MARCH 1977
PLAST
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Good evening,
This afternoon I presented my sixth budget to the Legislative Council - the budget for the financial year 1977-78.
2.
I was able to report that the public accounts
at the end of this year will show a surplus of at least 600 million dollars, rather than the deficit of over 300 million dollars I budgetted for. This surplus will be added to our reserves which will, therefore, be in a healthier state than for several years. This will make it easier for us to cope with any short term difficulties we may encounter in the future, for short term difficulties should not throw us off course;
although we must always adjust to serious recessions
in world trade.
3. There are two reasons for this rather unexpected surplus in 1976-77: first, although total expenditure will be nearly 6,900 million dollars or 13% more than
in 1975-76, it will be less than I budgetted for.
This is because progress on capital projects has not
proceeded as fast as I had expected and, also, contract |
prices have been lower than anticipated. Secondly, we have enjoyed better revenue yields than I expected a
year ago largely because of the speed with which our
economy recovered from the recession from mid-1975
onwards.
4.
Thus in 1976 our economy expanded by no less than 16% in real terms, that is to say, in terms of the output
of goods and services. This meant that, by the end
of the year, employment in manufacturing was 30% higher, and real wages were 16% higher, than at the
bottom of the recession in March 1975. Unemployment generally by the end of 1976 had been reduced to its
normal level of about 4% of the total labour force.
15
Lover
Jages
but
belir
1973