The private member’s bill tabled this week by Opposition MPs Jason Azzopardi, Marthese Portelli and Ryan Callus on public domain property represents a potential giant leap forward for the conservation of this country’s precious national, cultural and historical heritage.
We say ‘possible’ because the bill is still to be debated and passed by Parliament and although the government’s side of the House has considerably more seats than the Opposition, it is highly doubtful that government MPs would have anything against it.
For far too long we have seen our cultural heritage falling victim to development. At times the destruction has been glaringly obvious but in most cases, our heritage has been eaten away in a more insidious, piecemeal fashion.
But whatever the case, once a sensitive site is covered by concrete and development, there is no turning back – and given the rampant and at times unchecked development of the country in the past, more must be done to safeguard what is actually left.
The bill would potentially see the government, the country’s largest landowner, imposing restrictions on itself when it comes to selling or transferring public property. For starters, the government will set itself limitations on the use of, ensure access to and oblige itself to safeguard public land.
Some areas could become public domain by their natural attributes, such as the seabed and subsoil, as well as the coast. Other types of areas being proposed for public domain listing are valleys, forested areas, nature reserves, open countryside, squares, forts and just about anything else that is of cultural and historic value.
The concept of public domain land, unlike the situation in other EU states, is still an alien concept to Maltese law. And while some public domain areas could be declassified by the government in the public interest, but any such move would have to be submitted for parliamentary scrutiny, while it would also have be returned to its natural, pristine state.
It also opens up more property to be classified as being in the public domain, with NGOs being given the opportunity to recommend property and land to be classified as public domain, meaning that it cannot be used for commercial purposes and grant public access. And should the answer be in the negative, the government will have to furnish a detailed explanation as to why the request has been declined.
While the proposed bill should strike a national chord and as such it should transcend party politics. Nevertheless, it does curtail the virtual carte blanche the government currently holds over national assets and public land. The sort of abuse perpetrated by governments past – through the misappropriation of land in the countryside and on the coast as well as concessions granted at heritage sites could become a thing of the past.
It could also for example, limit land reclamation projects and the creation of artificial islands, as well as possibly scuttling plans to grant undeveloped seafront land for hotel developments. In future, provided the bill makes its way through Parliament, would not be able to sign away public land and properties as it sees fit but it would rather have to answer to Parliament before doing so.
That this bill will be given a thumbs-up by both sides of the House appears to be a no-brainer, but, short of that, the Opposition has pledged to bring it into law the first chance it gets, when it is in power.