Once again, the Malta Film Commission has found itself at the centre of controversy - and once again, those in power appear more interested in burying questions than answering them. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was given the opportunity to pursue long-overdue scrutiny of how €7.2 million in public funds were spent between 2019 and 2022. Instead, Labour MPs sitting on the committee voted against further investigation, shutting down any chance for transparency.

The Speaker of the House, Anġlu Farrugia, had cleared the way for the PAC to summon Film Commissioner Johann Grech once more. It was an opportunity to demand the full details of how taxpayer money - entrusted to the Film Commission to develop a vibrant film industry - was actually spent. But the Labour members of the PAC decided otherwise. Glenn Bedingfield, Alex Muscat, Amanda Spiteri Grech, and Ramona Attard chose to shield the Film Commissioner from further scrutiny. The public is left to wonder: why?

The government's message is unmistakable. When it comes to Johann Grech and the Film Commission, accountability is optional. The National Audit Office (NAO) had already flagged that €4.8 million of the €7.2 million allocated during those years remains unaccounted for - sitting as "deferred income" on the Commission's books. Yet instead of demanding explanations, Labour's MPs have ensured that the Maltese people remain in the dark about how this money was used, or whether it was wasted altogether.

Is the government truly comfortable with this? Is it satisfied to let millions in public funds vanish into a haze of invoices without tangible benefit to the industry or the people who sustain it? Does it not care to know where this money went? Every euro entrusted to a public body is a euro taken from citizens - from education, healthcare, infrastructure, and yes, cultural investment that should serve the many, not the few.

The Labour government's continued defence of Johann Grech raises deeper questions about its priorities and its relationship with public accountability. The PAC's Labour members did not act alone. They acted with the quiet blessing of the government and of the Prime Minister himself. If Robert Abela truly believed in transparency, he would have insisted that the Film Commissioner appear again and provide a full account of the funds entrusted to him. His silence, however, speaks volumes.

Momentum was right to call for an investigation by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life. But let us be clear - no one is holding their breath for real consequences. History has told us that, even when MPs are found guilty of wrongdoing, the repercussions are minimal, if any at all.

Meanwhile, the Malta Film Commission's budget has been sharply reduced in the 2026 Budget - an implicit admission that the lavish spending under Grech's tenure was unjustified. For years, Maltese filmmakers, actors, and crew have complained that they have seen little of the benefits of this supposed "boom". Millions have gone instead to extravagant events and glossy marketing campaigns, while local artists struggle for funding and recognition.

The Nationalist Party is right to point out that what was once a promising sector has been turned into a vehicle for waste.

The Maltese people deserve to know how their money was spent. They deserve a government that is not afraid of the truth. Transparency is not optional in a democracy - it is its foundation. Until those entrusted with public funds are made to answer for how they spend them, every claim of accountability by this government rings hollow.

The €7.2 million question remains unanswered. And Labour's refusal to ask it speaks louder than any response ever could.