The PN Opposition walked out of Parliament on Wednesday to block the Bill looking to establish a National Commission for Human Rights and Equality from being voted through. Opposition Whip Ivan Castillo cited concerns that a consultation was required, but ignored by government, as the reason for its coordinated protest.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives voted on whether it should enact Bill 3 for this legislature into law and establish a National Commission for Human Rights and Equality.

The result was 38 votes in favour and none against, though the Bill was blocked from passing as the PN's walk-out meant that the Chamber did not have the support of two-thirds all MPs required for the vote to be rendered valid, as Speaker Carmelo Abela stated.

This result shows that the entire government side of the House present voted in favour of this Bill.

Just prior to this vote, Opposition Whip Ivan Castillo said that the government was ignoring public calls for an open consultation to be opened on this Bill. He said that the Nationalist Party has called for the government to listen and listed the list of NGOs that have publicly come out and expressed their reservations over the proposed Bill as it stands.

On behalf of the entire Opposition, PN MP Castillo told the Speaker of the House that "if the government decides to remain stubborn and go for a vote, we will be walking out to force this to go out for consultation." During this brief intervention, Castillo also said that the government "left everyone in the dark."

Following this, the Minister for Equality and Civil Rights, Rosianne Cutajar, responded that "tonight, Parliament had a golden opportunity to have an institution that safeguards people's fundamental rights and equality."

Minister Cutajar said that it is "no problem" if the PN Opposition isn't on the government's side to back this Bill and that "the people and history will judge you for this."

Minister Cutajar then proposed the Third Reading of this Bill, as expected, thereby initiating the House of Representatives to vote on the Bill's final approval for it to be enacted to law. All members of the Opposition walked out of the Chamber during the minute of voting, thus forcing the Bill to fall through.

Writing on her Facebook page after this Bill was blocked from being voted through, Minister Cutajar said that this Bill did not pass "because of a conservative Nationalist Opposition that wants to obstruct the legislative process in favour of human rights and equality."

"History will continue to judge you. Today we have once again confirmed that the PN remains the Party against human rights and against equality in Maltese society," the Minister for Equality said.

Among the many concerns publicised in national media on this Bill, Insurance Association Malta noted that this Bill was fast-tracked without renewed consultation with the insurance sector; the Chamber of Pharmacists highlighted a "paradox of equality and discrimination," noting that the Bill undermined pharmacists' right to practise according to science and conscience; church schools and its representatives expressed disappointment that more time wasn't allowed for "meaningful consultation and careful scrutiny"; while the Malta Employers' Association, the UĦM trade union, and several other NGOs urged for this Third Reading to be postponed in the spirit of dialogue.

Following this Third Reading, Speaker Abela initiated the Third Reading of a different Bill - Bill 1, which looks to install constitutional amendments so that disability is listed as a protected characteristic in Malta, thus "ensuring equal protection in terms of fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals."

The Opposition made its way back into the Chamber to vote in favour of this Bill, immediately after its walk-out on Bill 3. This Bill received unanimous backing by the entire Parliament, with 72 votes in favour.