Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Saturday that under a new Nationalist government, Gozitans working in Malta would start being paid for work from the moment they board the ferry until the time they disembark.

During a PN political event held in Ghajnsielem, Grech said that the party's vision seeks to embrace the idea that we all have a responsibility towards one another.

He criticized the way the government is dealing with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Grech had proposed that for just one day, the election campaign would be put to a temporary suspension to hold a national march for peace and solidarity in Ukraine. He criticized the government for ignoring the suggestion, saying that 48 hours later, the Prime Minister had not yet replied.

Speaking about people with disabilities, he said that a Nationalist government would work on opening more centres within the community for people with disabilities.

People residing in Gozo but work in Malta would benefit from a new scheme under a new Nationalist government. Grech said that these workers will be receiving their wages from the moment they catch the ferry to Malta until they arrive back in Gozo.

He said that the decision of the Planning Authority on Friday to grant permission for a huge block of apartments at the end of Ta’ Sannat, near the cliff, shows the hypocrisy of the Labour Party on the environment and Gozo.

Grech said that “Robert Abela has lost all credibility on the environment… no wonder that the only promise he did not copy from the PN involves adding 50,000 square metres of land to ODZ, and protect ODZ land with a majority of two-thirds vote in Parliament.”

He criticized the government for not providing any solutions to issues such as the cost of living or poverty in Malta, saying that “from the Prime Minister’s actions, Robert Abela is not on your side, but on his own. Many people are realizing that Robert Abela's discourse is simply that of mere rhetoric.”

Meanwhile, Grech also said that a Nationalist government would carry out studies to determine whether it would be possible to develop underground tunnels so that the traffic which currently crosses from one side of Rabat to the other, passes through the underground tunnels instead.