What happened in my hometown Santa Venera last Sunday was a stark reminder that we cannot remain reactive in the face of geological uncertainty. We need to put our best foot forward and take all preventive action possible to avoid yet another tragedy.

First and foremost, my thoughts are with those six families, whose lives have been uprooted, as their houses displayed worrying cracks, reportedly due to piling activity taking place close by. No family should have to experience the fear and anxiety that they could be losing their homes and all their belongings within them, in a flash. Equally, I salute the dedication of the professionals and officials who intervened promptly, amongst which the Building and Construction Authority, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, architects, engineers, technical experts and all those on the ground who acted with urgency and a strong sense of duty. Their response was crucial in safeguarding lives.

However, beyond the immediate response we are faced with a more fundamental question. Are we doing enough to understand what is happening beneath us? We all know how construction is pretty much a constant anywhere you look, and while we debate building heights and planning permits, we often overlook the most basic element of all: the subsoil on which everything rests.

We cannot remain reactive to episodes once they happen. A modern country must move from crisis management to risk prevention. This is why this week, together my colleague Stanley Zammit, on behalf of the Nationalist Party, we called for the establishment of a National Geological Office is now a paramount necessity.

Such an office would be responsible for collecting and maintaining national geological data, creating a centralised database of Malta's subsoil, analysing excavation and foundation-related risks, and providing technical guidance to authorities and professionals. It would provide the scientific infrastructure required to make informed decisions before works commence, not after complications arise.

Reliable geological data strengthens planning, improves design standards, protects third parties, and in the long term, prevents costly disputes, structural failures and unnecessary hardship.

In a country as densely built as ours, understanding the subterranean environment on which we stand is fundamantal. Without a structured national approach to geological information, we are effectively navigating blind.

The call for a National Geological Office, however, must also be seen within a broader reform of the construction industry framework. We urgently needs a Single Construction Law, a coherent, integrated and preventive legal framework regulating construction throughout its entire life cycle. Unfortunately, fragmentation breeds confusion and weakens accountability. Within such a framework, geological data would be an essential component of decision-making.

A National Geological Office would send a clear and unequivocal message that Malta as a country, is serious about aligning development with responsibility. That we understand that growth without safeguards is not progress. And that the safety of our communities must always come first! The events in Santa Venera should not become just another incident. They should be an eye-opening opportunity to enact structural reform.