Niue Budget Watch: Niue MPs are grilling the newly re-elected government over its first post-election budget, pointing to a growing deficit and shifting priorities. The 2026/27 Appropriation Annual Bill sets out $83.4m in spending against $65.8m in expected revenue, now heading to the Public Accounts Committee for deeper review. Social Spend Concern: MPs say community development and social welfare—major parts of public spending—have been dropped from the government’s stated budget priorities, even though community development alone was $5.54m last year. Local Economy Questions: While tourism investment and subsidies are welcomed, MPs including Robert BJ Rex also flagged reduced education funding and called for stronger support for farmers, plus scrutiny of the Niue International Trust Fund (valued at $72.7m as of June 2024). Global Climate Funding: Separately, 186 countries backed a US$3.9bn Global Environment Facility replenishment for 2026–2030, with focus areas spanning nature, food, urban, energy and health systems—important context for future Pacific and small-island projects.