In his article Labour’s woes (TMID, 18 February) Minister George Pullicino refers to the environmental auditing process carried out at the National Labour Centre by a Commission of experts specifically appointed in July 2008 by Labour Party (PL) leader Dr Joseph Muscat.
By now we have all grown accustomed to the vulgar and arrogant way in which government ministers, not least Minister Pullicino, seem to enjoy expressing themselves in public. This particular piece is a case in point. It is truly remarkable how Minister Pullicino, or perhaps one of his acolytes penning this article, finds it simply irresistible to indulge in the character assassination of Labour MPs. It’s the usual GonziPN antics of doing politics. Minister Pullicino chooses to describe the work done by the PL’s Environmental Audit Commission as “a simple, long overdue energy audit”.
This Commission formally submitted its findings in a technical report presented to Dr Muscat on 14 January 2009, barely five weeks ago, and the event was given media coverage. The remit of the commission extended beyond preparing a full-scale energy audit covering the entire CNL building. The work was conducted within the parameters established by Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001, as amended, allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS). In a nutshell, the technical report constitutes the first step towards accrediting the PL headquarters in Hamrun and the operations therein to the highest European environmental management standards as envisaged by the Regulation.
Labour encourages all public and private entities to audit their operational standards with a view to improve on their respective rates of energy consumption. The PN secretary general had announced, just a couple of months ago and long after the Labour-appointed Commission had been in full swing, that the Nationalist Party had also commissioned an energy audit of its Dar Centrali. Not a word has been uttered from the PN quarters about the matter ever since.
In its assessment, the CNL Environmental Audit Commission considered both the direct and indirect environmental aspects as specified under Regulation (EC) 761/2001 with regards to the modus operandi of the site. Apart from an estimation of the overall carbon footprint attributable to the CNL, the Commission also reviewed various elements from national and EU legislation that may be considered applicable to the site and any related activities or operations. The issue of PL policy and the environment was also addressed.
In view of the then imminent overhaul of the PL statute in November 2008, Dr Muscat promptly took up the Commission’s suggestion to act at a strategic level and amend the PL’s mission statement to reflect sustainable development needs. The adoption by the Labour conference of sustainable development as one of the PL’s core principles is not a mere milestone in Maltese political history. It is another step in transforming the PL into a political movement of moderates and progressives that aims to put Malta at the forefront of Europe. The positive response the PL continues to receive from various groups in this regard, not least the environmental NGOs, is very encouraging.
While Labour has been looking forward and regenerating itself on the environment, GonziPN reaffirms itself as the pseudo-green party of Maltese politics, the very essence of a raw deal in environmental politics, to the tune of the usual scandalous projects with dubious intentions – the Ghadira road project, for example, and who needs to say more on the quarry proposed right beneath the doorstep of St John’s?
The PL is committed to take on board all the recommendations put forward by its Environmental Audit Commission. Furthermore, the party is already working towards implementing a set of guidelines presented by the Commission and designed to enable an operative environmental management system at club level in the various localities.
No minister, it is not just a “simple energy audit”!
Kurt Farrugia
Director of Communications
Labour Party