Parliament hosts Budget Briefing Workshop for its Members

The Legislative Assembly of Tonga hosted a Budget Briefing Workshop today for Members of Parliament, providing easy-to-understand information on the 2026/2027 Budget Estimates.

The Speaker of Parliament, Lord Vaea, said one of the main roles of Parliament is passing the budget, but it comes with great challenges because it requires financial and technical knowledge, as well as careful scrutiny of numerous documents by Members of Parliament.

He added, in his capacity as Speaker, it is vital for him to ensure that the highest level of support and assistance is provided for Members of Parliament to help them pass the Budget.

Lord Vaea also said that the workshop is timely, as members are preparing for next week’s sitting, during which they will debate the Budget.

The Speaker emphasized the importance of having a solid understanding of the Budget in order to make informed decisions.

He said he hopes the Members of Parliament will gain a better understanding of the Budget through the workshop and apply the knowledge acquired during the debate to make it more engaging and most importantly, reflective of transparency.

Lord Vaea thanked the New Zealand government for its generous assistance through UNDP, which enabled the workshop.

The Budget Briefing workshop was led by the Committee and Library Division following a Floating Budget Mission to analyze the Budget Estimates, Budget Statement and Corporate Plans.

The analysis was carried out by 12 staff of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga from the Legal, Committee and Library, Corporate and Monitoring and Evaluation divisions.

This was the first time the Legislative Assembly of Tonga had conducted the analysis independently. In previous years, researchers from different Parliaments were part of the analysis mission.

Part of today’s program also included presentations from the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Department.