Newly-appointed parliamentary secretary for Reforms and Equality Rebecca Buttigieg said that there needs to be holistic discussions over what type of Parliament Malta truly needs.

Buttigieg entered Parliament by virtue of a casual election held on the ninth district.

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Buttigieg spoke about the need for wide and holistic discussions over several topics, such as what type of Parliament the country needs and the electoral system, which she said needs to be debated during the coming legislature.

This newsroom asked Buttigieg how she felt over her appointment. She was undoubtedly excited to be given an opportunity to work in a sector which has always been important to her. She added that now she is in a position where she can influence certain decisions along with various groups and stakeholders who have worked in the sector.

Buttigieg spoke about how she was always active in politics; in fact, she has been a part of the Labour Party’s Gzira club since she was 18 and has been climbing the ladder of the party’s structure since. She was also part of several student organisations when she was at University, striving to use her position to outwardly speak about arising issues.

Asked about her experience during the last electoral campaign, Buttigieg said that it was very demanding, especially in the context of a global pandemic; however, she described it as a great first experience which she will always treasure.

“We had to get creative due to the pandemic as we couldn’t do certain activities. The house visits were a wonderful experience as you get to truly be among the people and realise different realities which otherwise I would not have been aware of as they do not affect me directly,” she said.

Buttigieg added that keeping in touch with people is the key to knowing the wants and needs of the public, in order to see how certain legislations would impact the people. Asked what she would have done differently, Buttigieg said that she only wished she had more time to get to know more people from the two districts she contested in.

A few weeks have passed since her appointment and Buttigieg was asked how she was settling in her new role in Parliament. She said that despite Parliament for this legislature opened just a few days ago, she has already started with the needed work.

“The IVF reform, which was in the PL’s electoral programme, and was promised that we would carry it out in the first 100 days of the new government, is already underway, and next week we will be able to debate it in Parliament,” Buttigieg said.

This newsroom asked Buttigieg about other reforms which she wants to work on for the upcoming five years, as well as new ones which she would like to see implemented.

“Reforms have always been the core of the PL and it is a privilege to be in a role where I can lead these reforms. Other governments have spoken about continuity, but this government always speaks about change, as we are never content with the status quo,” she said.

She said that the IVF reform is important, with a strong mandate. There is also a reform on prostitution, where certain work had already started in the previous legislature, she said.

“There also needs to be a reform which assures the equal treatment of homosexual persons, for them to be able to donate blood as everyone else,” Buttigieg said. She also commended the reform on the responsible use of cannabis, deeming it as “courageous” and works are underway so that the public can see its positive results.

In an opinion article with the Times of Malta, Buttigieg spoke about the fact that not many women presented themselves as candidates for this year’s general election. She also wrote that government “can and will do more” in this regard.

Asked about this, Buttigieg said that the gender corrective mechanism law, which comes into effect when a gender has less than 40% representation in Parliament and was applied for the first time during this year’s general election, was the “kickstart” towards a more representative Parliament.

“Despite not needing the mechanism myself to be elected, I am satisfied to see other women next to me in Parliament, something which was not common in the last legislature,” she said. Buttigieg said that finally action is being taken to include more women in Parliament.

“We can definitely do more; we need to implement more family-friendly measures in Parliament as nowadays, society looks at politics as an obstacle in a woman’s life. This needs to be seen as the opposite, as the fact that a woman involves herself in politics should not discourage them from having a family. The two are not mutually exclusive,” Buttigieg remarked.

Asked if the gender corrective mechanism is discriminatory towards men, Buttigieg said that this criticism is a superficial one. She said that the mechanism would have been unfair had a male candidate been elected into Parliament, but his seat had to be given up for a female candidate. However, this is not the case as those who were elected through the mechanism had a first preference of votes over certain male candidates.

She said that this criticism is there solely to target women negatively.

PN MP Janice Chetcuti had decided not to contest the casual election on the third district so as to allow other contenders to win a seat in Parliament, saying that she would still make it to Parliament through the gender quota. Criticism arose, with some saying that Chetcuti took advantage of the mechanism.

Asked if there are plans to revise the mechanism, Buttigieg said that there needs to be a discussion to better understand how to use it properly during the election. She said that ultimately, the discussions will include women actively participating in them and she hopes that the mechanism will not be needed in 20 years’ time.

Buttigieg also said that there might be the need to hold discussions over the electoral system altogether and whether the country needs to follow other models of electoral systems.

Seventy-nine MPs were elected to this year’s Parliament, currently being the largest Parliament in Europe per capita. Asked if Malta’s current Parliament is too large, Buttigieg said that one must take into consideration the fact that the current MPs are working on a part-time basis. She repeated that there needs to be a holistic discussion to see if MPs should become full-time and yet again over the type of electoral system in place.

In an interview with The Malta Independent, published last week, NGO Caritas director Anthony Gatt said that there have been significant repercussions following the cannabis reform, with a continuous change in mentality, a new excuse to be able to use cannabis, as well as children as young as nine being exposed to the substance.

Asked about this, Buttigieg said that she believes that the law is clear, as it offers the chance to those who have used the substance responsibly to be cleared from consequences which could damage their lives.

“The law focuses on harm reduction, obliterating the black market, as well as provide safe avenues for a better product. There are also awareness campaigns in schools so that children know all the facts and take informed decisions,” Buttigieg said. She added that while government will not encourage persons to make use of the substance, it is important to educate on what the advantages and disadvantages are, to be able to make use of it safely, successfully remove the stigma and stop branding individuals as criminals for “simply having smoked a joint”.

Asked if government gives preference towards those who have voted Labour, rendering equality obsolete, Buttigieg said that equality is not an option, it is a necessity, and government has always fought towards it. She said that in issues such as giving out permits, partisan politics does not come into play and the law is always followed.