When the Prime Minister had, in 2023, called for a “discussion” about reforming planning laws to freeze developments until appeals processes are exhausted, many welcomed the news.

It made sense that this law change, as having developments continue while under appeal could, and has, led to works being carried out only to then have the permit overturned by the courts.

A change to freeze permits until the appeals process concludes is needed, urgently. If that is all that was proposed, there would be no issue.

It was expected to be the start of a turnaround in planning laws. But then the red flags began to be raised. Prime Minister Abela earlier in summer, said that the time period for people to file an appeal to a planning application would be shortened.

Now, his government has tabled two planning bills in Parliament which have received widespread condemnation from NGOs who are looking out for the interests of the people and the environment. That alone raises alarm. The government decided to go far beyond the appeals’ permit freeze.

Moviment Graffitti described the bills as “a developer's wish list, dismantling nearly all remaining legal safeguards.” Din L-Art Helwa called them a "direct attack" on democratic rights. Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar said that these reforms would allow powerful interests to seize control of Malta's planning system, to the detriment of communities, the environment, and democratic principles. Wirt Għawdex expressed shock at the reforms, saying they reflect years of systematic bias in favour of developers. The NGO warned that the few remaining checks on the Planning Board - particularly those through the Law Courts - are now being dismantled.

The Nationalist Party said that Instead of an open and inclusive process, “we are faced with proposed laws that reduce environmental protection and further weaken the voice of the citizen in planning matters.”

Even the Labour Party’s President, Alex Sciberras, raised issues, and said that the people should be heard and have a full voice in the planning reform process, not only developers.

The government’s approach to these bills is wrong. It should launch an immediate public consultation on the bills, of which the need for changes will definitely emerge. In order to ensure that citizens are being better protected, e-NGO criticism must also be listened to. Those changes must be done to ensure that the bills are truly in the public interest.

There are some good points in the bill, such as proposing an increase in daily fines for breach of enforcement orders to €2,000 per day. But then the bills propose other issues which are extremely worrying.

The government’s proposed reforms suggest, among many other things, that recent policies could be given more importance than local plans, giving the minister new powers to revive expired permits, and that courts won’t be able to directly revoke or amend planning permits, having to refer back the acts of the proceedings to the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal for a fresh decision. All are controversial, and the latter point can only also be described as an obscene change.

The bills need serious revision done in favour of the public at large, and the government must stop pandering to developers.