Speaking during yesterday’s parliamentary session, Labour Party’s MPs lamented the fact that interest in parliamentary debates has dwindled drastically over the past few years, so much so that parliamentary sessions are now no longer matters of national interest.

The setting up of selected committees for the fields of medically assisted procreation and for the re-codification and consolidation of laws was the subject of much discussion in yesterday’s session, with both the government and opposition MPs stating that a stronger liaison needs to take place between both parties to settle matters of national interest with utmost professionalism.

The Opposition’s spokesperson for Social Dialogue and Civil Society Gino Cauchi said that past parliamentary debates generated much more public interest, so much so that tickets for the stranger’s gallery in the parliamentary building were also very hard to come by. Today, not only do members of the public fail to attend, but the majority of the media even fail to report on what goes on during the debates.

According to Mr Cauchi, the present government is to blame for constantly failing to treat parliamentary sessions seriously. The time allocated for supplementary questions is evidence of this, said Mr Cauchi, for questions put forward constantly keep remaining unanswered.

Citing an example, Mr Cauchi said that he put forward a question to the Ministry of Social Policy five months ago asking those concerned to provide a list of medicine tablets which are out of stock. To this day, and after repeating the question several times, no one on behalf of the government has bothered to respond. Mr Cauchi added that the government officials constantly beat about the bush and excuse themselves by stating that analysis and studies are still being conducted. According to the Labour Party MP, such behaviour does not do justice to a democratic country.

Mr Cauchi reserved praise for government MP Franco Debono, who is a credit to Malta because he often touches upon valid arguments during debates, sometimes going as far as criticising his own party in government in certain cases which he disagrees on, and who has also been calling for parliamentary meetings to become televised.

Mr Cauchi also suggested that MEPs serving the country at the European Parliament in Brussels also ought to attend parliamentary debates when they can, so as to inform local politicians on matters currently being treated importantly in Europe and which could leave life changing effects on the Maltese society. Other European countries pay much more respect to parliamentary sessions, and Malta needs to follow suit, suggested Mr Cauchi.

Labour Party MP Evarist Bartolo echoed Mr Cauchi’s thoughts, claiming that in 17 years of involvement in parliamentary debates, the current situation mirrors that of “a crisis”, with sessions lacking that much needed vitality. Mr Bartolo said that the parliament has lost some of its importance because certain responsibilities have been shifted to both the European Parliament and local councils. Mr Bartolo claimed that Malta is the only country within the European Union member states to have a part- time parliament, for not only are sessions too short and scarce, but ministers are so busy with other matters that they treat sessions as if they were a hobby.

Also on behalf of the Opposition, Owen Bonnici added that the Maltese Parliament needs to evolve and add an extra dimension to its current stagnant situation. Dr Bonnici stated the United Kingdom’s House of Lords and House of Commons should serve as examples which Malta should try and mirror. UK politicians, said Dr Bonnici, constantly argue on how to better the environment of their country so much so that meetings outside the parliamentary walls are common fold. Dr Bonnici also criticised the current setting because there is no forum in the Maltese Parliament to enforce standards and check regulations of current and potential laws and regulations. Malta’s parliament should also strive to analyse in greater detail Malta’s potentiality in the Mediterranean region and to increase discussions on human rights as certain laws currently in place need to be rectified with immediacy.

Current parliamentary sessions, added Dr Bonnici, make a mockery of the present government’s past election slogan, that ‘together, everything is possible’ for the government is being stubborn and refusing to discuss with the Opposition decisions which could change the lifestyle of many Maltese.

Government MPs Charlo Bonnici and Fredrick Azzopardi said that the setting up of such committees should include experts from all fields of society, and not only lawyers and economists, for such sensitive topics such as IVF and the recoding of the laws should not be restricted to the selected few. Moreover, greater importance needs to be placed on disability issues, while legal protection and divorce should also be subject to discussion. In order to facilitate such discussions, a creation of a sub-committee should also be implemented, said both Mr Bonnici and Mr Azzopardi.