The Nationalist Party has accused government of undermining its promise to turn Manoel Island into a national park after allowing part of the site to be used for padel courts.

In a statement, PN shadow minister for planning Rebekah Borg said the decision came only weeks after Prime Minister Robert Abela pledged during the election campaign to return Manoel Island to the public.

The PN said Maltese and Gozitan taxpayers had paid more than €43 million to reclaim the land, but we are now seeing part of it handed over for another use with the government's approval.

Borg questioned how the Prime Minister could justify the decision after presenting the proposed national park as a space for Maltese families to enjoy.

She also criticised the absence of legal definition for national parks, arguing than the government's pledge had not been supported by binding safeguards setting out what developments could be permitted on such sites.

The PN said it had proposed defining national parks in law and introducing protections to ensure that designated land remained preserved for future generations.

According to the party, the government had chosen not to adopt those proposals.

"Public land must be protected by law, not merely through words," the PN said.

The party said that the allocation of land for padel courts showed that the national park promise had been a pre-election pledge that was already beginning to fall apart.