Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia looks forward to discussing parliamentary autonomy and his proposal to set up a television channel to air all parliamentary sessions live when parliament reconvenes after the summer recess.

Many a time, Dr Farrugia has said that the time has come for a quantum leap in democracy by giving Parliament the autonomy it deserved.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Dr Farrugia said that it is now time for these two proposals to go through.

In May, Dr Farrugia had presented a report by a commission which had been set up to propose more autonomy for Parliament.  This report, together with a draft Bill regarding parliamentary services, was also presented to the House Business Committee for further discussion.

When asked to highlight the toughest decision he had to take in this legislature so far, he replied: “When I ruled that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has the right to demand the Henley and Partners contract.”

In May, Dr Farrugia had decided that the PAC was empowered to demand that the contract between the government and IIP concessionaires Henley & Partners be presented in committee. The ruling was requested by the PAC chairman Tonio Fenech (PN).

He confirmed that parliament was sovereign and could discuss anything in the national interest, apart from not being subject to what takes place in the law courts.

He said that rulings on certain procedures which are not “clearly defined” or where there are grey areas posed a big challenge.

Asked if he has any regrets on any of the rulings given, he replied in the negative and said he feels comfortable with all the decisions he made.

“I have double checked with other foreign speakers during workshops and conferences held overseas if certain decisions I took were the right ones and have always been met with the same answer: that the decisions were appropriate ones,” Dr Farrugia said.

To date, he has given a total 28 rulings. The last ruling was given on 17 July, when he ruled that the debate on the Enemalta Transfer of Assets Bill could proceed without the minister having the need to make available other documents requested by the Opposition.

This decision, Dr Farrugia said, was another tough decision he had to execute.

PL’s first budget highlight of parliament’s year – Carmelo Abela

PL whip Carmelo Abela said that he always respects decisions taken by the Speaker, whether or not he agrees with the decisions.

He said that the presentation of the first Labour government’s budget was the highlight of this year’s parliamentary work.

“We managed to implement about 30% of the electoral manifesto and as such departed from the previous custom of other administrations where implementing the electoral pledges was something for the last budgets before the general election. 

“Some of these measures include the increase in stipends and the refund of extra payments on car registration tax, to mention just two,” Mr Abela said.

He also pointed out that the government passed a number of bills, continuing to implement its electoral pledges such as those which will secure more transparency in politics, referring to the implementation of the Whistleblower Act.

The modernisation of EneMalta Corporation, Mr Abela said, was also an important milestone just before the summer recess. The debate, which tackled the Enemalta Transfer of Assets Bill, had been halted after PN MP George Pullicino had argued that the debate should not go ahead as insufficient information had been given about the energy agreement with a Chinese company.

However, a day or so later, the Speaker ruled that the debate could proceed without the minister having the need to make available other documents requested by the Opposition.

Mr Abela said that the government is committed to giving more rights to people, the introduction of the Civil Union Bill in April being a clear example.

“The government has shown it means business in Parliament and wants to work hard to deliver its legislative programme,” he said.

Questioned on the government’s future plans for parliament, Mr Abela said: “We already have an agreement with the Opposition that by the end of October we will continue and finalise the bill on party financing. 

“The budget for 2015 will be given priority.  The government is also planning some amendments to Standing Orders.  These will be discussed with the Opposition before being presented,” he explained.

Looking ahead, Mr Abela said that a first priority will be to settle in the new Parliament building. 

“It is evident that this building is small to suit the exigencies of today and tomorrow’s needs and as such this should be a priority. 

“Also, the Speaker presented some reports to both Parliamentary Groups such as the one on the Administrative Autonomy of Parliament.  This is an important report that needs to be debated and subsequently implemented.  The discussion on the bill concerning standards will also be on the agenda in the coming months,” he said.

PN is a strong and constructive Opposition – David Agius

PN whip David Agius said that since the beginning of this legislature, the Opposition promised to be a constructive but strong opposition.

“We want a civil debate in Parliament, with reasoned out proposals and without government insulting its critics. 

“This has led to several firsts, including the Opposition supporting a budget and voting for the government's choice of President of the Republic from its own political field. 

“We submitted 17 bills and motions including Constitutional amendments banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and disability,” he said.

Mr Agius said that the Opposition opposed bills which went against what modern states should stand for, including giving a string of state-paid posts to government  MPs, the secret citizenship sale and the lack of transparency in the contracts selling strategic assets such as Enemalta.

“Politics is not a black and white business and we also explained our nuanced stand in favour of civil unions while questioning why the government tied the adoption clause to the civil unions bill. We supported more than 90% of the bills presented in Parliament, including the Vote 16 bill for local councils.

On other matters, Mr Agius was less condescending. “We've had the Leader of the Opposition being tried in a kangaroo court on the orders of the Prime Minister. And we have had the Prime Minister lying on the generous financial package of the wife of Minister Konrad Mizzi,” he said.

As for decisions made by the Speaker, he said that there were some rulings and decisions taken by the Chair with which the PN disagreed with but acknowledged that an important institution, such as the independence and impartiality of the Speaker, should be respected at all times.

Mr Agius said soon Parliament will have its own building, a symbol of our pride in the past and our yearning for the future.

“This future will foster a new mentality that results in amendments to the rules governing parliament, further autonomy to Parliament, fuller cooperation between the parliamentary groups, and practical assistance to Members engaging researchers and analysts.

“A highlight after the summer should be the passage of the badly needed law to establish a Commissioner and Committee for Standards in Public Life.

“We expect genuine dialogue, full transparency and the full picture given to us by the government. “The government’s decision to withhold information from the Opposition on important matters such as Enemalta’s privatisation and on Martin Galea (the Maltese man who was abducted by Libyan rebel militias) is an affront to democracy,” he said.