On the eve of the party Extraordinary General Conference, which will be begin today, Labour Party Leader Joseph Muscat said that radical changes to the party’s statute were needed for the party to be relevant today and tomorrow.

Speaking at a party activity in Marsascala yesterday, Dr Muscat pointed out that the party was going through a time of radical change in its structures that reaffirmed the party’s social democratic belief.

The Extraordinary General Conference will reply to the question of how much the Labour Party was ready to change to be relevant to today’s realities. Dr Muscat affirmed that his personal commitment in promoting this change was due to the fact that the time for the usual politics in our country was over.

“The time of politics whereby the party in opposition says the contrary of what the government proposes is now over and the time has come for new choices,” Dr Muscat said.

The new choice that the Maltese and Gozitan people had, Dr Muscat said, was between the politics of the past and politics of the present and future. People had to make a difference between those who pushed forward the politics of yesterday and others who had the politics of today and tomorrow with people and families at its centre.

Among the changes being proposed and regarded as both “courageous and important” were a number of measures aimed at doubling the presence of young people at the party’s General Conference, Dr Muscat said. This aimed at introducing new blood which mingled with veteran experience.

Another possibility was the election of experts from various backgrounds, as well as people who could contribute in certain fields of discussion, as delegates for one year while being of assistance in the party’s formation. There was also the goal of having 40 per cent of delegates to be representative of every sex and a stronger feminine representation on the party’s National Executive. Meanwhile, Dr Muscat proposed that the Labour Brigade would be integrated under the Social Democratic Foundation IDEAT.

Another “courageous proposal” that Dr Muscat was putting forward said that the election of the party leader would take place from among those who have been party members for over five years. Furthermore, the Board of Vigilance and Discipline should be dissolved and related decisions were to be taken by the party’s Administration and National Executive.

These proposals to changes in the statute were taking place after Dr Muscat himself first spoke of such a revision before he was elected as Party Leader six months ago and this revision was to take place within a year of his election.

The need for the party’s renewal was continuous because it was a living party, Dr Muscat said.

“We are progressive because we believe in the need to change, a change which is taking place in a new style,” he explained.

During the same activity, Dr Muscat accused the Prime Minister for being irresponsible in the introduction of utility tariffs. The Prime minister was also accountable for the Nationalist’s Party web of spies on individuals as well as the MITTS scandal, he added.

People going through problems of one sort or another and who sought assistance from a government department were spied upon and their personal details ended up at the PN Headquarters, he said.

“These are shameful, scandalous acts and they expect us to keep our mouths shut,” Dr Muscat said.

In the year 2000 the Data Protection Act was introduced and described by Minister Austin Gatt as an act to protect the right to privacy of every citizen, to protect information especially electronic information of the government and serious regulation of information stored by individuals stipulating when this could be used and how.

Minister Gatt had also explained how the protection of data was a sensitive subject as it concerned personal information however, what Minister Gatt had said eight years ago was clearly breached by the PN, Dr Muscat said.

Thus, Dr Muscat called for the urgent appointment of a Data Protection Commissioner after the Prime Minister consulted him, for which to date, not even an appointment had been set.

Speaking on the educational reform, Dr Muscat expressed his agreement with the reform and called for across the board discussion which included experts, parents, teachers and children coming from both public and private schools.

The Opposition Leader also spoke on utility tariffs and urged for a better agreement for the benefit of all to be concluded from talks between the unions and the government. However though, he explained that the economy was already damaged by means of the retroactive utility tariffs as from 1 October and families could be paying for more than they actually consumed.

Dr Muscat said that while the UK government temporarily decreased the VAT so as to leave more money in people’s pockets, the Maltese government was doing the exact opposite.

With reference to the vehicle registration tax, Dr Muscat criticized the government for not coming up with the right solution and more efficient cars had now become more expensive than conventional ones.

The Maltese people merited a better leadership than the present thus the Labour Party was courageously changing to be able to better lead the country.