Nationalist Party Justice Shadow Minister Karol Aquilina said that the government’s efforts on the media reform 5 years after Daphne’s murder are too little too late.

On Wednesday, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard presented the new bill for the media sector following a set of recommendations made in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder public inquiry report.

Aquilina said that “the government still looks at journalists as though they are disrupting thier work in every occasion. While the Bill is needed, a more urgent matter needs to be changed, including the mentality of the Labour government when it comes to journalists.”

He argued that the government must not hinder journalists' access to information or the liberty to express themselves.

The opposition is also against the government for not bringing the bill for consultation with the public. “There was no consultation with the journalists, civil society or the general public. For a party whose slogan is that they hear everyone, they failed to listen to the people.”

Aquilina said that the opposition will be studying in detail the bill and possibly amending “in order to not only protect the journalists but also hold the government accountable for its actions. This includes sections of the Bill concerned with the protection of sources, their own protection and the access of information.”

“This bill is a small part of the recommendations of the public enquiry, especially considering the recommendations were published a year and a half ago. That is why when Parliament opens the opposition will be pushing as much as possible for the government to implement the recommendations asap.”