PN wants to keep Budget 2016 ‘hidden’, PL claims

PN leader Simon Busuttil and his party do not want followers of Media.Link “to be informed of the budgetary measures”, according to the Labour Party.

“It is evident that the Opposition do not want the people to be more informed of the Budget and doesn’t want TV and radio audiences to know of the positive measures,” the PL said.

Media.Link Communications has rejected a €10,000 offer by the government to broadcast promotion videos about the 2016 Budget.

One of the ads was pulled off the air by PBS “in the format that they were in” after the Broadcasting Authority argued that they contained false information. The government said the BA’s complaint related solely to the broadcasting of one advert, that has since been amended according to the authority’s directive. 

“Despite this ban from the Broadcasting Authority, the government is still arrogantly trying to broadcast its promotion videos on private TV stations,” Busuttil said, calling on the BA not to allow the government to broadcast the videos on Labour-owned One TV.

“Instead of wasting public funds on such blatant propaganda, they should tackle the problems faced by cancer patients whose €3,000 monthly medications are not on the government’s formulary list.”

Labour added that the PN was now “uncomfortable” because it was on its own in its criticism of the Budget.