The focus of the Labour Party’s strategy is the family, with particular attention being given to children, Labour leader Alfred Sant said during a political broadcast on TVM last night.
“We will provide change. We will be efficient, honest and clean of corruption,” he said, echoing the central point of the party’s electoral campaign.
The Labour leader was replying to questions put by six journalists in a transmission moderated by Paul Azzopardi as part of the Broadcasting Authority’s political series.
Dr Sant said the Labour Party plans to give priority to the education sector. “We need to invest and spend more money in education. It is a big challenge for us, particularly since Malta does not fare too well in this sector, compared to other European countries.
“We will work hand-in-hand with the Party of European Socialists with the aim to work towards a social Europe,” he said.
Asked whether the MLP plans to change the law regarding development zones, Dr Sant replied in the negative, saying, however, that a new Labour government will ensure that development permits are handed out in a transparent manner and that the country’s natural heritage is protected.
The MLP leader said the party wants to be able to help and support every child and provide children’s allowance that is the same for everyone.
He said the MLP’s plans to control the cost of living will increase families’ purchasing power, as will the economic measures to cut the surcharge on utility bills by half and remove income tax on overtime.
“Our proposals are not only aimed at traditional families, but also single parent families and others. We also want to be able to provide direct support to working parents,” said the Labour leader.
Asked how feasible it would be to re-open the country’s EU negotiations package, Dr Sant said: “Here we’re not speaking about a package, but we have exact social aims. We want the Shipyards to be able to continue operating and we want to strengthen the agriculture and fisheries sector”.
He said it is in the interest of the country as a whole and the EU, to protect these two important sectors.
“We will discuss certain problems according to the regulations and the parameters of the European Union,” he said, adding that a new Labour government will seek means of investing in both sectors in order to strengthen them.
Replying to a question as to the freshness or otherwise of the Labour Party, which was promising a new beginning, Dr Sant said it is not so much a matter of new faces, but rather the policies a party comes up with.
“Our policies are new, unlike the Nationalist Party’s, which are mouldy and corrupt,” said Dr Sant, adding that Dr Gonzi is alone – it is a one-man party.
Dr Sant was also asked whether he feels an apology should be made to Nationalist Party supporters, following deputy Labour leader Charles Mangion’s statement that the Nationalists seem to have something missing in their DNA.
What Dr Mangion had said was that the Nationalists are different, said Dr Sant, adding, “Did I not also have to face lots of insults?”
And after that, he went on to speak about “what distinguishes us from the PN crop, from the PN team, if you can call it so”. He said: “We work as a team and we will work against corruption”.
Speaking about the health sector, Dr Sant said he knows for sure that there are documents dating back to 2004, which show that the PN government had been seeking ways to introduce contributions for health services. He added that these documents have not yet been withdrawn.
“In 2003 we were also told that the finances were secure and yet the PN government increased the rate of VAT from 15 to 18 per cent and increased the tax burden by between Lm50 million to Lm60 million per year,” he said.
The Labour Party wants to modernise the health sector, particularly primary health care, said Dr Sant.
Like the British socialists, the MLP wants to reduce waiting lists by 15 per cent every year and this would be done in collaboration with the private health care sector if needs be, he said.
As he went on to speak about the education sector, Dr Sant said that the Labour Party’s proposal to introduce a reception class between kindergarten and the first year of primary school, was intended to “give children their childhood back”.
“It will be a long-term strategy involving parents, teaching professionals and experts,” he said.
Speaking about corruption, the Labour leader said this is definitely a main issue for the election.
“Carmel Cacopardo (a former investigating officer at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority) has been speaking of abuse and corruption. You have to be naïve not to realise that that’s what he’s been speaking about,” he said.
Dr Sant went on to allege that work is currently underway in a number of ministries, for files that could include incriminating evidence to be removed, as are certain hard disks.
The Labour leader said the MLP plans a total reform for Malta Environment and Planning Authority; different types of planning projects will be dealt with differently and abuse will simply not be tolerated, he reiterated.
Asked about the possibility of a Labour government reforming the laws regulating rental of property, Dr Sant said that like it had done between 1996 and 1998, a new Labour government will re-establish a commission that would balance the interests of landowners and those renting property.
In his concluding remarks, Dr Sant said the absolute majority of people are after change and the Labour Party could provide hope to families with a number of proposals aimed at improving their social, cultural and spiritual lives.