Sir,
In rising to present this my first Budget,
Budget, I wish to
acknowledge the considerable debt that I Owe my predecessor, Sir John Bremridge. Through his efforts our public finances are
now in a strong position and we can look forward with reasonable confidence to broadly balanced budgets over the next few years. Our trading position is excellent and our currency stable. had difficulties in the past, but we overcame them.
2.
We
The early nineteen eighties were not easy. Hong Kong went through political uncertainties with all the economic
consequences. By taking the long term view Sir John was able to
achieve the adjustments required, avoiding both draconian
revenue measures and any major disruption to services. Business
went on,
on, and that is what any Financial Secretary must seek to
ensure.
3.
Although we are now in a much sounder position, the
lessons we have learned remain valid. Hong Kong is as
vulnerable as ever to external forces. It is inevitable that we
will experience volatility in our economic performance. Whilst
the economy has improved in 1986, perhaps beyond our
expectations, there are, as usual, some clouds on the horizon. Protectionism still remains a worrying threat. I have no doubt
that in managing our public finances we should not take action that is likely to aggravate the volatility in our economy. We
must at all times pay careful attention to the underlying
trends, and ensure
that our budgetary management is characterized by stability.
4.
As far as possible I intend to adhere to the policies
that we have successfully followed in the past. In particular, I see no place for deficit financing as a permanent feature of fiscal policy, although I recognize that on occasions it may be inevitable that deficits have to be faced. They will also have
be dealt with
SO that we return to balance without undue
to
1
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