A complaint against Transport Minister Chris Bonett regarding a ministry video that was uploaded to his Facebook page prior to appearing in other media has been dismissed by the Standards Commissioner.
The report concerned an investigation request filed by Momentum Chairperson Arnold Cassola in April 2025 alleging misuse of public funds. The allegation was directed at Bonett regarding a promotional video about new public transport routes.
The complaint claimed that public funds were used to produce the video, and that it was posted on Bonett's personal Facebook page instead of official government channels, allegedly breaching ethics guidelines. The video announced 400 new or additional public transport trips pew day and included institutional logos but no appearance or mention of Bonnet.
The video was distributed to media and broadcasters (including TVM, ONE, and NET) on 17 April 2025, and it was aired on such channels between 20 and 21 April 2025.
The issue arose because the footage was uploaded to the Minister's personal Facebook page before it aired on broadcast media.The video was later also published on official ministry and Transport Malta Facebook pages.
The investigation relied on existing ethics rules, especially guidelines on ministers' use of social media, rules on government advertising and promotional material, and key principles of the Ministerial Code of Ethics.
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life found that no breach of ethics occurred, and that Bonnet did not cause or control delays in TV broadcast timing. However, the situation created an "ambiguous" and "unfortunate" appearance due it initially being posted on his personal page.
The video cost €2,000 to produce. Bonnet argued that it was first distributed to the media before being posted online. He also said that posting on his personal page formed part of normal ministerial communications.
The key finding of the report was that although no ethical violation was established, best practice would have been to publish the video first on official ministry channels and then share it via the Minister's personal account. The Commisioner emphasised procedural guidance to avoid similar ambiguity in future cases.
Bonett posted on Facebook welcoming the commissioner's findings, stating they confirmed his responsibility to keep the public informed about the work carried out by his ministry.
Arnold Cassola's reaction
Cassola took to Facebook to share the report's concluding remarks.
"It's really coincidental; every time Minister Bonett gets involved in something and I report him to the Standards Commissioner, he is always found to have broken the regulations and 'guidelines,' such as when he went on a private holiday to Sicily using a ministerial car," Cassola said.
Cassola then claimed that Bonnet did not have "the guts" to publish the report in full, and proceeded to post a screenshot showcasing the report's conclusion.
"Now let him continue doing whatever he likes, while we keep saying 'Well done Minister,'" Cassola said.