The government has turned down a request to have Marlene Farrugia, an independent MP, head the parliamentary committee for the environment and planning.
The call was made by Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil who, following a leading article published yesterday by The Malta Independent, said the government should take up the suggestion made by the newspaper.
Marlene Farrugia resigned from chairperson of the said committee in the same way she resigned from the Labour Party and parliamentary group last Tuesday.
According to Parliament standing orders committee chairpersons need to be approved by the government.
In a reaction, Dr Farrugia said that while she appreciated the suggestion, which was initially made by The Malta Independent, before she considers any offer she wanted to hear the views of ENGOs and others who have environment and development planning at heart.
"If these agree with my nomination, I am prepared to take over this duty again in order to keep raising awareness and strengthening the participation of society at large in environmental and planning stewardship," she said.
But, in reply, the Labour Party said that parliamentary rules require that the government has three representatives and the Opposition two. Marlene Farrugia resigned the chairmanship because she understood the rules, something which the PN leader did not, the PL said in a statement.
Dr Busuttil is free to appoint Dr Farrugia as one of the Opposition members, is he so wishes, the PL said.
In another statement, the PN said that rather than correct his mistakes, Joseph Muscat remains obstinate.
If the PM wants to accept the proposal made for Marlene Farrugia to be nominated as head of the parliamentary committee, there is nothing that is stopping him from doing so. If he believes that the law does not allow for this, he can change the law as it is still being discussed in Parliament. The Opposition is ready to help Joseph Muscat by presenting an amendment to this effect,
This is a credibility test for Joseph Muscat, and the people are awaiting his decision, the PN said.
The call for Marlene Farrugia to be re-appointed head of the committee has the support of environmental NGOs.
The eNGOs Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), Friends of the Earth Malta and RamblersAssociation also expressed their support for Dr Marlene Farrugia’s resignation following Government’s refusal to allow greater civil society participation on the board of the new Environment Authority, which tehy said she should continue to chair.
This resignation comes as a breath of fresh air, clearly illustrating that politicians in Malta are able to stand by their conviction and integrity, as opposed to bowing to partisan pressure at every turn.
The NGOs maintained that Dr Farrugia’s express wish to remain a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Environment and Planning should be taken seriously and honoured accordingly, in order to counteract the increased pressures on environment authorities by the development industry and its powerful lobbyists.
Labour MPs’ refusal of the proposal that the chairman of the Environment Authority should be approved by Parliament after a Committee for Environment and Planning hearing, shows that, contrary to pre-election promises, Government wants to retain total control over all such appointments.
This is the moment of truth for Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat’s claims to be truly democratic in all spheres, including environment. The NGOs now call for clear action in exercising that very principle, by retaining Dr Farrugia as chairperson of the said board.
As a collective, FAA, FoE and Ramblers respect the dedication and vigour with which Dr. Farrugia has countered the on-going onslaught against the Maltese environment. Whilstthe NGOs on the one hand thank her for her efforts acting as a voice for the people over and above party and commercial interests, they trust that she will be given the means to ensure a healthy environment for future generations.
The eNGOs echo her call to the public to stand up and be counted, to speak out without fear when the environment and their health is at risk.
Front Harsien ODZ calls on the Prime Minister to reappoint Marlene Farrugia in the role of chairman of Parliament's environment committee and amend the law to make this possible.
"Marlene Farrugia has distinguished herself in giving a meaningful voice to civil society in the democratic process and in the formulation of new planning policies and on controversial issues like the American University of Malta. She has also ensured greater transparency through the grilling of public officials involved in these decisions who had to answer questions by civil society."
This represented a marked improvement over the way the committee was run under the previous administration when civil society was not invited to participate in these meetings.
"Therefore we strongly appeal to the Prime Minister to re-appoint Farrugia in this role. Such a mature decision would strengthen the government's democratic and environmental credentials. As an independent MP Farrugia would be in a better position to reach out to civil society."