Despite the Government's incredible spending indiscipline in the face of the most widely expected economic downturn in more than a generation, it is entirely reasonable for the community to expect a budget from the Finance Minister that meets the needs of hard-pressed Bermudians without compromising our current or future fiscal situation.

The government's budget must be guided by the Hippocratic Oath "First, do no harm". This means not putting a further burden on taxpayers – either businesses or individuals, nor unreasonably increasing the national debt on the backs of future generations.

The Minister must take care to ensure an enhanced safety net for individuals who fall victim to the downturn – through job loss – and to make sure it does not impair or weaken people's spending power, which is vital to sustaining local businesses. Our retail and tourism service businesses are already hanging by a thread and need all the support the Minister can give them.

There should be no need to increase taxes in this budget, as long as Government can impose some internal fiscal discipline and cut non-essential and wasteful spending.

This is an area of particular concern for us because it is essential in an economic downturn for the government to lead by example. The PLP government has never shown spending discipline, but this budget offers the opportunity to do just that.

Over the last five years, loose and excessive government spending has added tens of millions of dollars to our tax burden and national debt – think of the huge cost overruns on building projects, or poorly planned and controlled activities such as faith-based tourism or, on a more personal level, excessive ministerial travel.

This care-free indiscipline has had the cumulative effect of weakening our ability to weather a downturn such as the one that is upon us.

We see huge opportunities to cut back non-essential spending, particularly for the millions of dollars that are flowing overseas to consultants the PLP Government hires as a matter of routine, often overlooking skilled Bermudians in the process.

It is not too late to get things right. The economic storm is in full swing in the United States and has already begun to crash against our shores. We should understand from our own economic history that the impact here will lag the economic crisis in the United States.

The Finance Minister should use this Budget to prepare the country for the long haul. The consensus among international economists is that this recession will be severe and last through 2010. It is essential the budget trim the country's sails to weather the storm.

Beyond spending discipline, the Minister must take steps to grow and/or help sustain the sectors of the economy that earn Bermuda vital foreign exchange, as these sectors will be the ones that will see us through to better times.

We can steady the good ship Bermuda and do the right things, but it will take a strong hand, a clear understanding of the national interest and a style of leadership that gets all of us pulling together as one.