How can a government keep a straight face and say it is working in favour of sustainable development when it ignored the views of eNGOs when it implemented the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development, PN MP Marthese Portelli said.
Speaking in parliament, Dr Portelli referred to Environment Minister Leo Brincat’s statement in parliament that the government is working to promote sustainable development.
“The government had a golden opportunity to show that it really wants sustainable development but it did not grasp the opportunity.
“It is useless for the government to say that it holds the environment dear to its heart when it does not,” Dr Portelli said.
The SPED parliamentary debate was concluded before the public consultation on the subject ended. The last sitting which dealt with the new SPED law lasted until 3 a.m. after the Opposition called a division every 20 minutes to “convey a message in favour of the environment”.
Dr Portelli outlined a number of reactions made by eNGOs following the government’s vote in favour of SPED, including those of Flimkien ghall Ambjent Ahjar, Din l-Art Helwa, among other environment NGOs.
“The government is stating that it implemented 90% of the views of NGOs but then you have the NGOs who stated that it does not conform," she highlighted.
She said that Front Harsien ODZ whose aim is to protect Outside Development Zones said the least the government could have done is wait for the public consultation process to end before the SPED debate continued. But this, she continued, did not happen.
Had the government really wanted to have a fair balance between development and protection of the environment, it would have ensured that there is equal footing on the executive council since the permanent members are practically all appointed by the government.
She said the five permanent members are the executive chairman, the chairperson and deputy chairperson of the planning board (all of whom are appointed by the Prime Minister since he is the minister responsible for MEPA or by Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon) and two other individuals who are well-versed on health and safety or building services. The rest will be called on an if, or required basis, she said.
At the discretion of the executive chairman, supplementary members can be called in. “Environment non-permanent members are secondary,” she lamented.
"Do us a massive favour and stop saying you are a government that listens," Dr Portelli said, adding that the "people out there know you are not".
At the rate we are going, she continued, ODZ will soon well mean 'Open Development Zone'.
Callus laments government's claims PN voted against the environment
PN MP Ryan Callus said that he was disappointed to read in the papers that the government stated the PN voted against the environment.
“I doubted for a moment whether we are living in the same country,” he said.
This statement is, to say the least, deceiving, Ing. Callus said.
There are people out there who have no interest in either taking the government or the Opposition’s side. “Din L-Art Helwa for instance said that the strategic plan’s vision should be changed completely,” he said.
Mr Brincat said that today we had the third boycott due to the fact that the Opposition is now boycotting the sustainable development discussion. Last week, he said, it boycotted the MEPA demerger debate.