Prime Minister Robert Abela has stated that the government's strategic direction vis-à-vis ODZ land is that no developments should occur in these areas.
Abela responded to questions sent by the public during an interview with MaltaDaily. Some issues revolved around what to do with ODZ land, the issue of present overpopulation, recovering the €400 million from the hospitals deal, discussions on euthanasia, and more.
One person asked the Prime Minister on his opinion of a PN proposal regarding what to do with ODZ land that is being requested to be used for development or potentially sold; the proposal is that either of these scenarios can only be allowed if a large majority of 75% of Parliament agrees that the development or sale can proceed.
The Prime Minister disagreed altogether that this should fall under the remit of parliamentarians and stated that due to the government's strategic direction for these scenarios, achieving a supermajority in Parliament for approval should not even be discussed as an option.
"ODZ land should remain ODZ," Abela said.
In this regard, he mentioned a recently rejected application for a supermarket that was proposed to take up a significant area of ODZ land in San Ġwann. Abela said that this development application was a "non-starter" that did not conform with what is being sought by the authorities.
Overpopulation
Abela said that the country's population growth over this legislature must not equal that of the last five years. He defended the government's economic model, stating that when the Labour government was first elected 11 years ago, "the country's economy was not generating the wealth that our people deserved to have a better-quality life."
He said that the population is increasing now since Maltese and Gozitan manpower has been exhausted, and therefore, the government is seeking out the immigration of foreign workers to plug in the remaining gaps.
In this regard, Abela said that a change will be introduced in coming weeks - only workers from required sectors will be given entry into the Maltese islands. He also pledged for more investment to be made in sectors that are not intensive on local infrastructure, such as AI and robotics, since they can substitute human resources, he said.
On the subject of foreign workers, he also addressed one comment stating that foreign workers must be obliged to be proficient in the Maltese language to work in the country. Abela remarked that this is very important for certain sectors, such as for carers and jobs within the hospitality sector.
Euthanasia
The Prime Minister stated that "this is a theme that we must discuss with great seriousness in this country."
Abela noted that discussions on the subject of euthanasia should commence in the second half of this legislature in a structured manner, and that these discussions should be led by civil society. He was adamant that these discussions should not be spearheaded by politicians due to fears that the issue may then become polarised or politicized to the point that the subject's importance and sensitivity end up being minimized.
"I believe as a country we must have courage - not to just have discussions on these subjects, but to make decisions about them," he said.
Abela also briefly discussed some investments made by government within the field of palliative care. He said he was very content with the "strong investment" made with Hospice Malta a few years ago.
Recovering the €400 million from the hospitals deal
The Prime Minister mentioned that the government is using channels of international arbitration at the moment to retrieve all funds that were potentially taken by Vitals and/or Steward that were not allocated for investment.
After mentioning investments made by government to the country's primary care, such as the "strong investments" to decrease waiting times for MRIs, mammograms, and outsourcing of emergency services, he said that in practice, the Opposition's public narratives on this subject should never be mentioned.
Efficient transportation to address increase of cars
PM Abela remarked that infrastructural projects, such as the development of major junctions, made by the Labour government were a vital necessity for the Maltese islands.
"The country needed them just as much as bread," he said, "we did not have infrastructure that used to improve traffic flow."
Abela said that in the short-term, the government can entertain the idea that services known for occupying our roads, such as garbage trucks for waste collection, could make more use out of night hours.
For the long-term, he brought up the idea of using more of the Maltese islands' surrounding seas and to promote this method of travel. He stated that "the resource of water should be used to create connections between our different ports in the south and north of Malta" and that in the coming weeks and months, discussions can be opened to bring this idea into fruition.