And also the writing on the wall which is making clear that we are heading for a murky and stinky election campaign with the direct complicity of state broadcasting. Regarding the latter it is pointless accusing Where’s Everybody when their conflict of interest and agenda are common knowledge. Our guns – in purely metaphorical terms – should be turned directly and relentlessly as of now on the new CEO at PBS who masterminded the PN’s election campaign as well as – and arguably even more so – on Mr Natalino Fenech, the news manager who should be held personally responsible for the way current affairs are not only being doctored but also manipulated to accommodate the party in government.

From what I have been told things can only be expected to get worse as the election campaign draws nearer, particularly when the PN is realising that next year virtually half of Malta will be going to the polls in almost nationwide local elections. I dread to imagine what shape state broadcasting will be in, in the run up days to the general elections proper unless remedial action is taken as of now.

Lawrence Gonzi is directly responsible for this dismal state of affairs the same way that he should be held personally responsible for the way he has chosen to sit back and allow his hacks to work in collusion with darker forces in smear and dirty tricks campaigns that remind me of the way the CIA of old had used hacks like Judith Miller to do their hatchet jobs.

With Toni Pellegrini at the helm, state broadcasting admittedly went through some dark times, but one has to admit that we are virtually reliving some of those days when one analyses clinically the shameful manner in which TVM has almost virtually reduced Net TV to an irrelevant station without any valid reason to exist any more.

As for the noxious smells, the government’s passivity over the Hexagon House issue makes a mockery of all the talk we have had recently of wanting to forge together a new environmental policy, a sustainable development policy, a clean air policy etc.

When the issue was raised repeatedly in the House and in the media, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment first told the House that he was not sufficiently briefed on the matter since he had just had a busy day addressing an environmental workshop while at a later stage when quizzed on the subject on Super 1 he merely chose to gloss over the whole issue.

One hopes that someday the whole truth will be unearthed about who gave government the ‘sound advice’ to acquire Hexagon House when it was long common knowledge that various HSBC employees had been long suffering from the noxious smells around the building.

That such premises were chosen to house the Environmental Protection Directorate must have definitely sent the worst kind of signals to all and sundry.

But the cherry on the cake must be attributed to the fact that we now have it officially that there were some 50 instances of full or partial employee evacuations from the Mepa environmental directorate’s offices in Marsa since September 2008 because of noxious fumes that plagued the area. This was confirmed by the Union of Professional Staff and this was never denied by either government or Mepa.

Speaking for myself I have been raising parliamentary questions on this sad saga ever since I assumed the portfolio of Shadow Minister for the Environment.

I am sure that your readers will find some of the official replies that I was given in the House to be more than interesting and intriguing:

• The problem of noxious smells at Marsa will be eased once all the conditions of the IPPC permits of the plants operating in the area will be implemented – Lawrence Gonzi (1 June 2009);

• An expert commissioned by Mepa made it clear that it is highly improbable that any dangerous gases in the area could pose any serious risks within the confines of the Hexagon House building – Lawrence Gonzi (June 2009);

• You can rest assured that all the whereabouts of Hexagon House in Spencer Hill are being constantly monitored by Mepa. The situation will continue to be monitored regularly – Lawrence Gonzi (27 October 2009);

• An occupational risk assessment study regarding Mepa employees was carried out by Prof. Alfred Vella before Mepa staff started operating from Hexagon House. Prof. Vella confirmed that there is no risk or health hazard for Hexagon House employees – Lawrence Gonzi (11 January 2010);

• Prof. Vella’s study identified all possible sources that could be contributing to the noxious smells at Hexagon House but his study failed to reach any conclusions about the proper source – Lawrence Gonzi (11 January 2010);

• I can assure you that the smells at Hexagon House are more of an inconvenience than a hazard for employees’ health – Lawrence Gonzi (11 January 2010);

• The operating plants in the area are subject to regular inspections by Mepa. Apart from that every operator is obliged to keep regular loggings of all oil and or oil waste transfers from or to their establishments. – Lawrence Gonzi (2 February 2010).

There is one big and major difference between the noxious smells at Hexagon House and the smelly manner in which state broadcasting is being manipulated.

We might ‘ostensibly’ not know who is responsible for the Hexagon House stink.

But we definitely do know who is directly responsible and who will be held personally responsible for the stink coming out of the PBS newsroom.

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www.leobrincat.com

Leo Brincat is the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development & Climate Change