Foreign Minister George Vella has complained about being a “sitting duck” in an office within easy reach of the public with no bullet-proof windows, PN Whip David Agius said this evening.
Addressing the House Business Committee, Mr Agius read out an email he had received from Dr Vella, who, it seems, addressed it to the wrong person. The other person copied is Family Minister Michael Farrugia and Dr Vella asks for the message to be conveyed to the whole Labour parliamentary group.
“Sitting in my office, I am only 5 to 6 metres away from anybody going up or down the famous steps going up to Central Bank area. The windows are not tinted nor 'one-way' as that would spoil the appearance from outside. They are not bullet proof either. So sitting in my office I am nothing less than a sitting duck or a target in a lit-up aquarium for any hothead or jihadist wanting to make a case for whatever extremist group as happened in Sydney, Bardo etc. We are inviting such an accident to happen. Wasn’t anybody responsible for this short-sightedness?”
The email thread includes complaints by other ministers, including Michael Farrugia and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela, about the lack of privacy due to the transparent windows at the new Parliament. In one email Dr Farrugia wrote to Government Whip Godfrey Farrugia: “I believe action should be taken immediately to make our parliamentary offices less transparent visually and auditory.”
Meanwhile the committee also decided that Parliament will rise for summer recess on 20 July. Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech said the date for the resumption of sittings is yet to be decided.
Speaker Anglu Farrugia said a decision needed to be taken on when to start using the electronic voting system. The new system was tested last month but a number of MPs failed to push the right button.
He also spoke on the Parliamentary Channel issue and said that, according to broadcasting laws, free-to-air channels in Malta had to be licensed. He said there are two options: either amending the law to exempt Parliament or asking the Broadcasting Authority to issue a license for the Parliamentary channel. Government MP Deborah Farrugia noted that the rewind feature is not available on the channel for GO Interactive users.
PN Whip David Agius also spoke about the exhibitions held at the Parliament building and said he agreed on the need to appoint a curator.
Dr Farrugia announced that world-famous architect Renzo Piano will be in Malta for one day in the beginning of August to launch an exhibition related to the works on the Parliament building. Foreign media will cover the event. The exhibition will remain open for three months.