A proposal regarding a new Gozo courthouse will probably be included in the budget, "but we don't expect anything to be done because the government has no political will to do so," PN Leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.
The PN leader said that the government knows what must be done, though similarly to the proposed mental health hospital, he said the government has questionably not acted on its verbal ambitions.
There has been talk of the need to find a new site for the Gozo court for years.
During a PN political activity in Nadur, Gozo, Bernard Grech was joined by Perit Edward Scerri and lawyer Nadia Vella in a discussion related to each of their respective expertise - built environment and justice in Gozo. Most points in these discussions made direct reference to the upcoming Budget, which will be held in three weeks' time, on 28 October.
During her intervention, Nadia Vella said that there currently lie two principal issues to justice in Gozo: accessibility and a lack of modern facilities. She clarified that accessibility, in this case, does not just refer to finding an available lawyer to protecting one's rights, but also in the literal sense of being present in court.
Vella described that many physically impaired persons struggle to enter the Gozitan Law Courts due to their fixed staircase at their entrance. She described that in these cases, lawyers must plan ahead of time to make the necessary arrangements for their clients to be dropped off close to the courtroom and for the judge to make their decision/s outside.
"I don't think this is suitable for a Member State of the European Union," she said.
She also said that the court archive "cannot go paperless" and that the number of papers is always increasing over time. Vella also called for all related papers to be filed in the Court building; at the moment, some century old documents are stored in the Gozo Central Public Library, meaning that lawyers often need to travel there to conduct their research, rather than remain in the Gozitan Law Courts, she said.
"We are left without a response; we do not know where the court is going to be," Vella said on the state of the proposed new Gozitan courthouse.
She pleaded for this year's Budget to feature a "concrete plan" on this project and requested that this site is not placed in Rabat, Gozo, due to the area becoming a "very congested zone."
"The Court building now is suffering from the problem of overpopulation and the forthcoming strains on public infrastructure, including worse traffic," she added.
On accessibility to justice, Vella said that this could be improved across the Maltese islands by ensuring that every locality has an open police station at all times. Using our sister island as an example, she said that "not everyone in Nadur can afford to travel to Rabat at any time they like, not everyone owns a car or can drive one, and this is restricting access to justice as well."
Bernard Grech said that PN's promise to the people is that its decisions would not be taken on the cuff, "as this government does," and that his party has a vision that has been constructed through the many discussions it has had with social partners, residents, experts, etc.
Grech also said that he has no faith in the government implementing some of the Nationalist Party's proposals, such as eliminating tax on COLA payments.
Turning to the topic of development, the PN leader shared that "environment" is not just limited to the natural environment (like valleys or the seaside) but also includes urban social spaces within localities.
In Grech's view, no one should be engulfed by a nearby construction site, and while people have a right to develop, others have an equal right to enjoy their surroundings. "To me, it's unacceptable that because an individual or company is investing to build, their neighbours must be engulfed until this construction has been completed," Grech said.
Grech called for "sustainable development and planning" to resolve this issue.
"All people deserve to live, not just exist," he said, "Changes must respect present realities. To us, it is unacceptable that someone does whatever they like while others are forced to be engulfed at their expense." On the subject of public planning and the importance of built environments, Grech said that his party, as well as other politicians, have the obligation to ensure that quality of life and the environment are prioritised. The PN leader spoke of the significance in having "liveable communities and localities" and promoting connectivity between neighbouring localities.
Scerri said that the term "built environment" encapsulates everything developed within an urban zone, and in itself includes aspects of conservation, passage design, and civil planning.
He labelled the three aspects to be central to sustainably planning out built environments: the use of buildings and spaces, building density, and the amount of open space.
The architect remarked that for Gozo's future, it is vital to conserve its open spaces - both rural and urban. He added that "lost open spaces are lost forever" and that doing so would have a negative impact on residents.
Grech described that he opposes the notion that localities should be served as dormitories, where one mostly embraces their habitual town for the main purpose of having a place to sleep. He said that government has the responsibility to invest in the required infrastructure within towns and villages to avoid this idea from being more prominent.
On this point, he questioned "What good is it to invest in buildings and developments, but then restrict funding away from local councils?" He argued that restricting local council funding would make it more difficult for it to fulfil its duties, such as ensuring adequate rubbish collection.
After narrating that a car journey in Gozo from Mġarr to San Lawrenz had recently taken him 45 minutes, Grech demanded that the connectivity between localities "must be improved."
"One should not get jammed commuting from one locality to another, this connectivity must be improved," he said.
The PN leader also commented that it is fruitless for government to boast about achieving economic growth while many people continue to suffer from this lack of connectivity, and other aspects that are detrimental to their daily quality of life.