PN Leader Simon Busuttil, PD Leader Marlene Farrugia, AD Chairperson Arnold Cassola, and  nvironment Minister Jose Herrera yesterday engaged in a panel debate organised by 23 eNGOs, at Din L-Art Helwa in Valletta.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat arrived 50 minutes late, which saw Minister Herrera remain sitting awkwardly silent on the panel throughout the rest of the debate.

The eNGOs’ proposals

Prof. Cassola said that all the proposals were within the political party’s manifesto.

This was echoed by Dr Busuttil who said that the 171 proposals outlined in the PN’s environment document covered all the subjects spoken about, and he believed that he was bound to implement the document if elected.

Minister Herrera, the understudy to the PM, said that the PL agreed with proposals such as the right for a healthy environment in the constitution which creates a moral obligation with the public to uphold environmental laws.

Marlene Farrugia said that it was essential that politicians copied the example set out by the eNGOs and came together to create better long-term planning for the environment. “The onslaught on the environment was the first tangible symptom of bad governance.”

She maintained that the protection of the village core should be included in the constitution; and clarified her position on hunting and trapping, saying that there should be better communication between eNGOs and the community. “We should try to better understand the traditional aspect to trapping.”

Upon his arrival, Dr Muscat immediately went on the defensive by claiming he “was not the most popular guy in the room” but accepted the criticism levelled before him. He repeated Minister Herrera’s proposals, however he did say that not allowing people to build high rises without a master plan, restricts their rights.

He also scoffed at suggestions that the Environment Resource Authority was weakened by the Planning Authority. This was met with severe criticism from Prof. Cassola, who reminded the PM that architect and lawyer Robert Musumeci, who is a government consultant and partner to Minister Herrera’ sister, has received the highest amount of ODZ application; followed by MP Charles Buhagiar.

Credibility of commitments to the environment

Prof. Cassola maintained that the party has long supported environmental causes. The AD Chairperson called out Dr Muscat and Dr Busuttil for claiming to ‘love the environment’ but contributing to the Spring Hunting referendum result by announcing that they supported the practice.

Dr Busuttil clarified his position on the issue with regards to spring hunting. He said that during the EU referendum campaign in 2003, which he says was the most important decision made for the environment, he made commitments to hunters that spring hunting would not be removed.

On trapping, he said that he would wait for the EU court’s decision on the matter, but insisted that the current administration handled the situation poorly.

Minister Herrera said that the public domain legislation was an indication of the government’s intent to strengthen the environment.

This was met with criticism from Prof. Cassola who asked why the Paceville masterplan included land reclamation from the sea and coast.

The PM referenced the 2006 PN rationalisation process, and said that these boundaries may be redesigned to include more ODZ area.

Dr Farrugia said that the public should not trust the PL, as they made the same promises four years ago. She referred to the government’s plan for a race track, which the PD is against, as evidence of this. “As head of the parliamentary committee for the environment , I consistently consulted eNGOs.”

Land Reclamation

Profs Cassola, Dr Busuttil, and Dr Farrugia all made commitments to stop all forms of speculative land reclamation.

It was at this point the PM made his entrance. Before speaking he engaged in a small war of words with a Din L-Art Helwa representative, who chastised him for failing to implement proper legislation to defend the environment in spite of promising to do so. “You invited me here, I did not come,” Dr Muscat said.

Dr Farrugia said that Dr Muscat had come to apologise but it was ”our country that has been relentlessly destroyed by the most hypocritical man. The environment was one of our loudest battle cries.”

Dr Muscat said that he believed that eNGOs were too focused on issues surrounding land use but “no one mentions the quality of air, or the transition to gas.”