ADPD-The Green Party Chairperson Sandra Gauci today criticised the government's continued failure to uphold good governance, following plans to use public funds to assist owners of illegal structures damaged by Storm Harry. Speaking outside the Office of the Prime Minister, Gauci said recent decisions show that those who break the law are increasingly rewarded, while honest citizens are left questioning whether obeying the law still matters.

Gauci pointed to a pattern of behaviour that has eroded Malta's moral compass, including the sanctioning of illegal developments, former ministers with tarnished reputations returning to well-paid public positions, and now the prospect of taxpayer money being used to repair or rebuild structures that should never have existed. Such actions, she argued, signal that illegality can simply be normalised or retrospectively legalised.

The proposal has drawn strong objections from resident organisations, NGOs, the Malta Chamber of Commerce and ADPD itself. Gauci questioned how government can justify supporting illegal buildings when their very status means they were unsafe, improperly located, or built on public land. Instead of using the storm as an opportunity to address long-standing abuses and free communities from rogue structures, the government is choosing to reward those responsible.

This approach mirrors previous attempts to weaken planning laws, reinforcing the perception that breaking the law is acceptable as long as one can later pay to regularise it. Gauci warned that such policies undermine the rule of law and destroy public trust, as power and political convenience take precedence over justice and the common good.

She also criticised the Prime Minister for trying to please everyone while ultimately serving business interests, resulting in a loss of credibility. Allowing owners time to legalise illegal structures so they can qualify for funds demonstrates, she said, a lack of political courage to confront wrongdoing.

Gauci concluded that citizens deserve the restoration of a genuine sense of justice-one that protects the public interest and treats everyone equally under the law. At present, she said, this sense of justice is sorely lacking.