Environmental NGOs involved in the fight against the planning reform bill as presented by the government this summer are launching Tour Ġustizzja għal Artna, which will take the call for the withdrawal of the destructive planning laws to the heart of towns and villages across Malta and Gozo, the NGOS said Friday.

Over the coming months, representatives of the Ġustizzja għal Artna campaign, together with local groups, will tour communities across the islands to explain how the proposed laws threaten our quality of life, environment, cultural heritage, and practices that define our country and its way of life. The public will also have the opportunity to visit our stands to share their queries and suggestions.

The first stop will be at Birżebbuġa Parish Square on Sunday, 30 November, starting at 9:30am. In collaboration with Għaqda Storja u Kultura Birżebbuġa, the campaign will highlight this unprecedented threat and the actions that citizens can take to resist it. 

This legal package has been designed with one purpose: to satisfy the wishes of developers. It would open up every corner of the country to reckless construction and allow the rich and powerful to ride roughshod over local communities and the common good.

Among their many obscenities, Bills 143 and 144, together with the three accompanying legal notices, would hand sweeping and arbitrary powers to the Planning Authority, limit the right to appeal its decisions, strip the Courts of their power to overturn illegal permits, and grant amnesty for a wide range of environmental illegalities.

While Government has pledged to revise these laws and consult further with NGOs and communities, Ġustizzja għal Artna remains unconvinced that legislation so fundamentally flawed can be fixed. To date, no revised proposals have been presented.

The campaign reiterates its call for the full withdrawal of this so-called "reform" and for the launch of a genuine consultation process to deliver the real planning reform Malta urgently needs.

The public is encouraged to visit the Tour Ġustizzja għal Artna stands and join the growing movement to protect our towns, villages, and countryside. Together, we will stop them, the NGOs said.