A motion presented by St Paul's Bay local councillor and ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci has been approved by the St Paul's Bay Local Council, ADPD said on Friday.
It described the motion as one which calls for the council to formally request that the government pass the tax on tourists staying in accommodation within the locality directly to the local council.
Gauci said that there is no doubt that the St Paul's Bay locality is one which is deeply affected by the impacts of mass tourism, and continued that the ADPD insists that there is an urgent need to support local councils in their efforts to protect the quality of life within their localities.
The ADPD stated that the government could start in this regard by passing the tourist bed tax directly to local councils, "rather than essentially giving it back to the sector itself". It continued that the government should also remove the "ridiculous capping of €5, and consider increasing the rate of 50 cents per day to a rate that makes sense and is based on the impacts of tourism on our localities".
The ADPD said that the labour councillors not only decided to vote against the motion, but that they also behaved disruptively by "erupting in insults". It said that from the perspective of the labour councillors, "they see every proposal as an attack on the government and the Labour Party". It remarked that the labour councillors are incapable of discussing and behaving properly during official council sessions, describing such behaviour as a puerile way of conducting local politics. It commented that despite this, Gauci will continue to make proposals in the interest of the locality she represents.
The Green Party concluded that it is now up to the government to react to the formal request of the St Paul's Bay Local Council, "and to show whether or not it respects local democracy". The ADPD commented that it is afraid that the government will want to maintain strict control and dictate how it wants the councils to operate, instead of strengthening local democracy.