Prime Minister Robert Abela described Rosianne Cutajar's decision to resign from her post as a Parliamentary Secretary pending the outcome of an investigation by the Standards Commissioner as a "mature" one.
Cutajar has been under fire ever since it emerged that she allegedly pocketed thousands of euros from a failed property deal involving Yorgen Fenech. The Standards Commissioner is investigating.
Abela, speaking in Rabat on Sunday, said that Cutajar brought the interests of the country ahead of her own. The reforms she was working on, he said, will not stop.
"She felt that while she had to work to clear her name, as she has every right to do, she decided, maturely, that she would not want this to impact on the government's work. What a difference when compared to the Opposition."
He said that others run away from all responsibility while the PL government does not. "We are trusted as we lead by example."
"Look at what is happening to the PN Leader, he doesn't take a stand on anything. Cutajar gave an example of how things should be done and I ask him, what will you do with Adrian Delia, Jason Azzopardi, Kristy Debono and Hermann Schiavone? Despite serious allegations, nothing has been done about them."
During his speech, the Prime Minister also made an announcement, saying that the deadline by which promise of sale agreements must be signed in order to benefit from reduced tax rates has been extended.
The government had reduced the amount of tax on the purchase of property as part of the measures to help the market during the Covid-19 pandemic. In June 2020, the government had said that the stamp duty for both the property buyer and seller was being reduced. The stamp duty for the buyer will go from 5% to 1.5% while the stamp duty for the seller will go from 8% to 5%. The deduction will be on the first €400,000 of a property purchase. This was planned to remain in place for promise of sale agreements registered until 31 March 2021 with the final deed of the transfer being signed until 31 December 2021.
The Prime Minister has now extended the promise of sale registration period to July 2021. He said that the government was listening to the people, and this is why this change was made. "There were people saying that they will not be able to sign the promise of sale by March due to problems. Because of this, they were worried they would lose out on the savings they were going to gain from the reduced tax rate. Today, I will again grant them peace of mind, as the date by which a promise of sale would have to be signed will be extended from March to July 2021."
Abela also spoke about the environment. He said that one of the accusations the Opposition makes against the government is that "we kicked the environment to the side. I am surprised they speak like this, as the construction happening now is according to the local plans introduced by the PN back in 2006." The architect of the 2006 plans is today the left hand of the Opposition Leader, he claimed.
Abela spent a large part of his speech firing broadsides at the PN.
He argued that former Opposition Leader Adrian Delia tried to show that he was different, but in the end it resulted that he wasn't. "Today's Opposition Leader isn't even trying to show that he is different, as those who put him in his position are not letting him."
The Prime Minister said that this past week saw a breakthrough in the investigations regarding the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. He said that, despite this, an attack against the institutions was again seen. "When they saw the institutions delivering good results, they couldn't take it."
"If there is one word that scares the opposition, it is the word unity."
"There was a moment this past week where mature politics required that together, we would send a clear message that our institutions are working. Instead we saw undercurrents coming from the Opposition, sending messages that the institutions are not working, or creating doubts about them. I defended every institution, and I will continue to defend them against every attack."
He spoke about social justice, and about the recently announced pre-1995 rent reforms.
"We announced our plan, which is based on three principles - that nobody will end up homeless, that uncertainty and fear among many pensioners will change into certainty and peace of mind, and thirdly that owners will receive fair and just compensation for their property."
"There are 10,000 families who do not know what will happen to their residence tomorrow. We are removing this uncertainty."
He said that the Opposition made no proposals regarding such rent reforms. "An Opposition without ideas." He said that the Opposition was not even capable of reacting to this reform, only saying that it is too little too late. "You were in government for 25 years and the reforms you made on this issue did not solve anything, but rather created more problems. Our reform is based on a sense of justice, while their reform placed a false sense of security on those renting."
"Aside from negativity, the Opposition is not capable of doing anything."
He also said that he held a phone call with Pete Buttigieg, explaining that they have a common vision to reduce emissions, as well as having the same liberal vision on civil rights.
He said the environment is a priority for the government. "This past week we revealed new schemes for people to invest further in clean energy." He said that the government not only introduced new schemes, but fixed other ones which were implemented under PN administrations.