Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
The Stoltenberg II Government’s inaugural
address to the Storting
The Storting 19 October 2005
Mr President,
The parliamentary elections on 12
September gave the Storting a new majority.
A majority for a new policy and a new
government.
The Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party
and the Centre Party have therefore undertaken to form a majority government.
We will change the form and content of the
political process.
We will pursue a policy of greater solidarity
and social justice.
We will change the form of the political
process by virtue of being a majority government.
This will increase predictability and lead
to a clearer division of responsibility between the Government and the
Storting.
The Government will base its policy on the
political platform formulated by the three parties at Soria Moria.
Norway is a country of opportunity.
We have abundant natural resources and
untouched nature.
We have long-established democratic
traditions.
We have a high level of education and expertise.
We will seize these great opportunities.
We will use them to create wealth and distribute
it equitably.
We must create wealth in order to have
something to distribute.
And if we are good at equitable
distribution, we will get even better at creating.
High-quality education for all, well-developed
public welfare services and gender equality stimulate value creation in
society.
Thanks to the Scandinavian model the
welfare of the people and the competitiveness of the private sector are among
the highest in the world.
We will safeguard and continue to build on
this.
The main features of Norwegian foreign
policy will remain unchanged.
The Government will promote a UN-led world
order based on international law. Our NATO membership, the EEA Agreement and Norway’s
status as a non-member of the EU will be the mainstays of our international
engagement.
We will work actively to create a better,
more secure world within this framework.
We will be at the forefront in the fight
against poverty and international environmental efforts.
We will have a clear profile as a nation
of peace.
We will be at the forefront of efforts to
cancel the debts of the least developed countries (LDCs).
We will increase Norway’s official development
assistance (ODA) to one per cent of GNI, and further intensify our development
co-operation efforts during the period.
We will make a substantial contribution to
the UN Emergency Relief Fund, and participate actively in efforts to combat the
HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Together with others, we will work to ensure
that all children have access to vaccines.
The Government will use NATO to further
develop the transatlantic partnership.
New tools will be used to address new
security policy challenges.
We will terminate the assignment for
Norwegian staff officers and training personnel in Iraq.
We will strengthen Norwegian participation
in ISAF in Afghanistan.
Therefore, the mandate for Norwegian participation in Operation Enduring
Freedom will not be renewed.
The Government wants a modern defence establishment
and will improve financial control in the Norwegian Defence.
The Norwegian Defence will be adapted to
the new security policy challenges.
We will step up Norwegian civilian and
military participation in UN peace-keeping efforts, with a particular focus on Africa.
The High North will be Norway’s most important strategic
priority area in the years ahead. The Government will intensify efforts to exercise
Norwegian sovereignty and to ensure the sustainable management of the rich fish
and energy resources.
The aim of our High North policy is to
protect the environment, maintain settlement patterns and promote business
development in the north.
We will further develop our co-operation
with Russia
and our other partners in the north.
We have always had strong ties to the rest
of Europe.
We will further strengthen these ties in
the time ahead and pursue an active European policy.
We will co-operate with the EU on the
basis of the EEA Agreement, and make active use of all the opportunities it
provides to safeguard Norwegian interests.
The Government will pursue a humane and compassionate
refugee and asylum policy based on Norway’s international obligations
and the principles of the rule of law.
We will intensify our efforts to remove
immigrants who are staying illegally in Norway, and we will work actively
to conclude readmission agreements with more countries.
We will combat discrimination and at the
same time make it clear that all people living in Norway have an obligation to
participate actively and adhere to the laws and the basic democratic values of
our society.
In the current WTO negotiations, the
Government will work to promote overall Norwegian interests, with a view both
to maintaining a viable agricultural sector in all parts of the country and to securing
markets for our fisheries and seafood industry.
The Government will promote greater
transparency in the negotiations and as far as possible ensure public access to
the process.
We will support countries that promote the
interests of the poor countries of the world.
We will carry out a comprehensive review
of the consequences of the WTO negotiations for Norwegian agriculture.
The Government will pursue a policy of employment
for all.
We will therefore conduct an active
private sector policy and a sound economic policy.
We will strengthen our labour market
policy by creating more places in job insertion schemes, and by means of a youth
guarantee for all young people under 25 and a job insertion guarantee for the
long-term unemployed.
There will never be employment for all if
we do not have an inclusive labour market.
We will combat hidden unemployment by means
of a more inclusive labour market. We will reverse the weakening of employee
rights and intensify efforts to prevent social dumping. Proposals in this field
will be presented before Christmas.
This Government gives priority to
employment for all and collective welfare rather than to new tax breaks.
The public sector must be strengthened in
order to safeguard our welfare.
It must therefore be renewed and
developed.
This will enable us to give the population
good services, freedom of choice and a say in decisions that affect their lives.
Our goal is to ensure that everybody has
access to adequate and equal health and care services.
No local hospitals will be closed down.
We will continue efforts to improve the
division of labour between hospitals in order to enhance the quality of the
treatment provided to patients.
The services provided to persons who
suffer from mental illness will be improved through the implementation of the
Escalation Plan for Mental Health.
We will develop a binding national
escalation plan for efforts to combat substance abuse.
The Government will give high priority to extending
nursing and care services.
There is a need for more people in the
care sector.
Our goal is to increase the number of
employees in the geriatric care services by 10 000 in order
to ensure a life of dignity for all elderly people.
Care services are to be the responsibility
of the public sector.
The Government will create favourable
conditions for voluntary organisations, which are an important complement and
supplement to public services.
We do not intend to commercialise and
privatise basic public welfare services.
The individual is society’s most important
resource.
The Government will therefore give
priority to education and knowledge.
By doing so, we create opportunities both
for the individual and for the country as a whole.
We will continue and enhance the main
features of the Knowledge Promotion school reform.
The Government intends to raise the number
of teaching hours in primary and lower secondary school and increase the number
of teachers, so that they can better follow up the pupils.
We will strengthen higher education and
enhance our research efforts in terms of both funding and quality.
We will focus particularly on research in
fields where Norway
has a comparative advantage and significant potential for value creation.
The Government considers kindergarten to
be a voluntary part of a child’s education.
We will ensure full day-care coverage,
lower the price to NOK 2250 a
month from 1 January 2006 and establish children’s statutory right to a place in
a day-care centre once full coverage has been achieved.
The Government took office on 17 October,
which is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Poverty should not exist in one of the
world’s richest countries.
The Government will present a
comprehensive plan for the eradication of poverty in Norway.
We will return more people to the
workforce so that they can live on their own income.
We will increase benefits to people who
live in poverty.
A socially responsible housing policy will
be pursued to support the fight against poverty.
The Government has high ambitions for its
environmental policy.
We will build on the principle of
sustainable development and solidarity with future generations, both nationally
and internationally.
We will pursue an environmental policy
that maintains natural diversity, limits pollution and facilitates changes in
production and consumption patterns.
We will make it simpler for people to make
environmentally friendly choices in their everyday lives.
We will safeguard people’s opportunities
to experience nature and take part in outdoor recreation.
The Vefsna river system will be protected
against hydropower development.
We will give statutory protection to the
forest areas surrounding Oslo
and other cities.
Norway is an energy nation.
Many companies and a large number of
people are involved in the production and processing of Norwegian energy
resources.
We intend to maintain economic growth.
We will promote new, renewable energy sources
and apply environmental standards to other energy production.
We will find solutions that reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases.
The Government will seek to ensure that a
larger share of the natural gas produced on the Norwegian continental shelf is
used in the domestic industrial, energy and transport sectors in compliance
with our international climate commitments.
Norway aims to become a world leader in
the environmentally friendly use of gas.
The State will participate in funding infrastructure
for the transport of natural gas.
We will create conditions that encourage
CO2 capture, transport and storage.
The Government will ensure that the
establishment of a full-scale CO2 capture facility at Kårstø is started and
will provide funding towards this.
Petroleum activities will not be initiated
in the Nordland VI area during this parliamentary period.
Once the integrated management plan has
been adopted, it will be decided which parts of the remaining areas off the
Lofoten Islands and further north, including the Barents Sea, are to be opened
up and which are to remain closed to petroleum activities.
We will create conditions that are
conducive to Norway
becoming one of the world’s leading innovative, dynamic and knowledge-based
economies.
Welfare and a favourable business
environment are created through co-operation between the private sector, the work
force and the public sector.
The range of instruments available to the
public sector will be strengthened.
We will develop national strategies in
areas such as the marine and maritime sectors, energy, the environment and
tourism.
It is a goal for this Government to create
conditions that make it profitable to process Norwegian raw materials in Norway.
Transport and communications are important
for maintaining settlement patterns, promoting private sector development and making
use of resources in all parts of the country.
The Government will give higher priority
to transport and communications.
Air pollution in the large cities must be
reduced by investing in public transport, bicycle paths and footpaths.
The Government will redirect regional
policy with a view to providing the same standard of living throughout the
country.
The great potential for value creation in
all parts of the country will be released by applying a range of measures and utilising
our natural resources.
We will ensure that regional policy
concerns are taken into account and co-ordinate the overall role of the State to
a greater degree.
We will maintain a viable agricultural
sector in all parts of the country and ensure that the sector enjoys an income
development and social conditions in line with those of other groups in
Norwegian society.
The Government will implement a new,
integrated coastal policy.
We will launch a broad study to assess the
effect of the structural measures that have been introduced for the fishing
fleet.
There will continue to be three elected levels
of government in Norway.
The Government will initiate a reform of
the regional structure with a view to establishing a renewed and strengthened
regional level of government.
The Government considers strong and
healthy municipal finances to be necessary to ensure good welfare services in
all parts of the country and will implement a multi-year escalation plan in
order to rectify the financial imbalance in the municipal sector.
In 2006 the non-earmarked funds provided
to the municipalities will be increased by NOK 5.4 billion, which is a
substantial boost.
Ensuring public safety is one of society’s
most fundamental tasks.
Therefore we intend to combat crime more
actively.
Our aim is more effective prevention, a
higher resolution rate, quicker reaction times and better rehabilitation.
The Government will introduce a social
reinsertion guarantee providing for close follow-up after release from prison.
We will provide better services for
victims of violence and crime, while at the same time developing preventive
measures against crime.
In a country where the vast majority are materially
well provided for, the aim is not just to have enough to live on, but also to
have something to live for.
We therefore intend to strengthen the
position of art and culture in our society.
The Government will promote increased
activity in both elite and grassroots sports.
We will pursue a new, comprehensive policy
on voluntary work.
We will follow up the policy aims set out
in the white paper on cultural policy by increasing the allocation for culture
to one per cent of the government budget by 2014.
We will seek to ensure that the Church of Norway continues to be an open and
inclusive national church.
We will encourage broad debate on the
relationship between church and state based on the report of the commission appointed
to examine this question.
The Government will promote a society
where all people have equal opportunities to develop their potential, irrespective
of gender, age, social background, religion, ethnicity, skin colour, functional
level and sexual orientation.
We will therefore combat all forms of
discrimination.
We will fulfil our obligations with
respect to indigenous peoples and national minorities, and ensure that the Sami
Parliament is given real influence over policy areas of importance to Sami
society.
The Government will pursue an economic
policy that stimulates continued economic growth.
Total taxation will be at the 2004 level.
Our budget policy will be based on the
spending rule for the use of petroleum revenues.
How well we succeed in reaching our goals
will depend on how much economic room for manoeuvre we have within sound fiscal
parameters.
Some of the main aims of the Government’s
economic policy are low unemployment, a high employment rate and economically
stable and sustainable development.
The Government will promote a sustainable
economy in both the short and the long term.
We will carry out the pension compromise
reached in the Storting this spring in order to ensure that the pension system
is more equitable that our society will be able to finance it in the future.
Mr President,
If someone had said 100 years ago that Norway
would be one of the world’s richest countries in 2005, nobody would have
believed it.
We have been both industrious and fortunate
in Norway.
We have managed our resources in a
long-term perspective, and we have ensured that they have been distributed equitably.
Let us together seize the unique
opportunities open to Norway.
Our task is to make Norway even better.
A better country
- to grow up in,
- to live, work and realise oneself in,
- to grow old with dignity in.
At the same time we must avoid closing
ourselves off from the outside world, but rather increase our international
commitment.
This Government has a majority in the
Storting.
This does not mean that we will do as we
please.
Quite the contrary.
We invite everybody to participate in
making Norway
better during the next four years.
No Government can do this alone.
We know that the representatives in this
chamber possess valuable experience and knowledge.
Many have acquired it through a long
political career.
Others have acquired it from working in
various sectors of society, and in different regions and municipalities.
We need everybody’s insight and
capabilities.
Organisations, companies and individuals
must also express their views on how we should develop Norway.
We aim for openness and dialogue with
people throughout the country and with a broad range of organisations.
In this way, we can achieve great results
together.
During the next four years, the Government
will work to make Norway
a country characterised to an even greater degree by solidarity and social
justice.
A country that is more sustainable, more
internationally committed and better to live in than the one we took over.
These are the challenges the Government
will address and the goals it has set for itself.
We look forward to co-operating closely
with the parties represented in the Storting on reaching these goals.
