Charles Lepani discusses the role of Ross Garnaut in developing the budget suppport grant. He describes how Lepani, Tony Siaguru and others accompanied minister Sir Albert Maori Kiki to Sweden to meet Prime Minister Olof Palme. He discusses the process where Garnaut developed the policy and Mekere Moratau took it to Julius Chan who then asked Garnaut for his opinion before taking it to Cabinet.
Charles Lepani discusses the role of expatriates and local Papua New Guineans in the National Planning Office and the efforts to recruit economists and political science graduates to the Office. He relates how they developed policy as a team, but that it was he who took the policies to Cabinet. He discusses the case of Air Niugini planning to buy new jets that needed airports that could accommodate them when his priority was to maintain existing airports and build feeder roads.
Charles Lepani discusses the issue of reducing and stabilising wages in the public and private sector prior to Independence by those at the National Planning Office and Treasury, without examining the tax policy and profits made by big companies. He describes how he saw the other side of the issue once working at the National Planning Office.
