The PN on Wednesday insisted that the “disgraceful” Planning Bills (Bills 143 and 144) be withdrawn immediately and tabled a motion in Parliament to this end as it seeks “a new, serious, inclusive, and transparent process” instead.
The PN said that for years it has been calling for a holistic, fair, and transparent reform of the planning system; one that puts the citizen and the environment at its core.
“Instead, the Government has presented not a reform, but an institutional assault that leaves the public unprotected and voiceless,” the party said.
The PN also said that it has long been demanding, both in Parliament and in Local Councils, serious studies such as Carrying Capacity Assessments to determine how much and what type of development the country can sustainably support. Despite this, the Government has stubbornly refused to carry them out, the PN added.
“The Government has pushed these bills forward hastily and without consultation, just before Parliament breaks for summer. It has done so to try to avoid scrutiny, limit debate, and evade accountability. This is a clear demonstration of a Government intent on misleading the public and making changes behind their backs,” the PN said.
It said that Bill 144, despite including the temporary suspension of permits pending appeal, in fact reduces the powers of the Court of Appeal and nullifies its autonomy.
It continued that Bill 143 “opens the floodgates to more chaos and abuse in the planning system.” “It allows for unauthorised developments, disregards the hierarchy of plans, and hands power to the Minister and boards to override established policies as they please, including in areas where development is meant to be prohibited (ODZ),” the party said.
“Furthermore, for more than a decade, the Government has blocked all updates to the planning framework and instead introduced vague policies that have eroded consistency and destroyed public trust in the system. The Planning Authority has become an approval rubber-stamp, rather than a visionary tool for the common good,” it continued.
The PN said that any serious reform must be holistic, guarantee the suspension of permits during appeals; be based on evidence, including a national Carrying Capacity Study; restore judicial independence; increase public participation and transparency, and rebuild trust in the system through honest and serious governance.
“The PN's position is firm and clear: the bills must be withdrawn immediately. The process must start from scratch,” the party said.
“Reform must be real, not a sham designed to give the Government more power while further eroding the rights of citizens,” it concluded.
The party’s statement was signed by PN MPs Stanley Zammit and Rebekah Borg, the Shadow Minister for Planning and Lands and Shadow Minister the Environment respectively.