Every minute lost in traffic is a minute taken from someone's life: a parent's time with their children, a worker's rest, an elderly person's independence. Those minutes should weigh heavily on everyone entrusted with public responsibility.

This week, my work in Parliament, across my constituency and at the Malta Maritime Summit revolved around one question: how do we turn Malta's knowledge and goodwill into results people can feel?

Our maritime sector offers a lesson. Political cooperation has helped sustain confidence and continuity in an industry essential to our prosperity. We should bring that same determination to our roads.

The Malta Maritime Summit deserves praise. Marking its tenth anniversary, it brought international expertise and industry leaders together to confront shipping's toughest questions. John A. Gauci-Maistre and his team deserve recognition for giving the industry a strong voice and Malta a platform to shape its future.

This successful summit generated work that governments and industry can carry forward. We must now turn its discussions into practical recommendations and action.

My contribution centred on Malta's direction. What maritime economy are we building? Where should we invest? How can our international standing translate into skilled employment and stronger services at home?

International influence begins with clarity at home. Understanding our priorities allows us to identify common ground with other countries and turn shared interests into progress. Malta must negotiate with clear objectives, sound evidence and a vision for its maritime model.

That means giving maritime activity priority within our ports, strengthening services and investing in dependable cleaner energy infrastructure. Maritime education must support ship management, ship repair, yachting, engineering, logistics, maritime law and cybersecurity. These careers offer a future worth choosing.

The people sustaining this industry must remain central. At the Summit, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez warned against treating seafarers as collateral in conflict. Those carrying our supplies deserve protection, decent conditions and a safe return to their families.

No cargo is worth a seafarer's life.

Geopolitics reaches Malta through the sea. Disrupted routes affect freight costs, delivery times and businesses' resilience. Maritime connectivity therefore belongs at the heart of our economic policy.

Cleaner shipping requires the same seriousness. European and international rules must recognise our dependence on maritime transport, while environmental ambition must be supported by investment in technology, fuels and infrastructure.

The Malta Maritime Forum's response to proposed EU Emissions Trading System revisions shows why sustained engagement matters. It welcomed progress addressing competitive pressures on European transhipment ports while seeking further protection for island states.

The Forum has also documented cross-party cooperation on Malta's maritime strategy, including my support and proposals to strengthen it. Shared objectives, scrutiny and a willingness to improve plans together create conditions for results. Cooperation works when an open hand comes with clear expectations and responsibility for delivery.

That is why the Nationalist Party has extended a hand of friendship to the government on traffic.

The principle is simple. When there is agreement on the problem, political differences should not prevent us from examining solutions together. People should be able to judge the outcome through improvements in their daily journeys.

Following Alex Borg's appeal, we proposed a dedicated parliamentary committee bringing together expertise from councils, transport operators, workers, businesses and passengers. Both sides would examine the same data, with regularly published findings, recommendations and progress on accepted measures. My work advancing this proposal reflects a straightforward expectation: cooperation must produce measurable progress.

Meanwhile, serious questions remain. It was reported on Tuesday that Finance Minister Clyde Caruana had not seen the light-rail studies and would not commit to the project. Chris Bonett replied on Facebook that studies and financial models were progressing towards presentation to Cabinet.

Yet light rail was a Labour manifesto promise. How does that square with the Finance Minister's assurance that the proposals were costed? Was this the exception?

If this flagship promise, central to Malta in Motion, fails to secure funding, what credible alternative to private car use will people have? What is the plan for those still waiting in traffic?

Public frustration is unmistakable. One Facebook post responding to advice to plan journeys ahead asked: "shall I plan to fly?" Earlier media reports recorded accounts of ninety-minute journeys from Sliema to Marsa and an hour from Ta' Xbiex to Msida. These are individual experiences, rather than national averages, but they demand attention.

Four hours travelling around an eight-hour working day means twelve hours away from home. Families deserve a future with time left to live.

In my constituency, the failures are concrete: future road closures in Mellieħa, limited public transport in Mġarr and Manikata, and St Paul's Bay residents reporting another twenty-five to thirty minutes waiting because a bus is already full.

These concerns directly inform my work as shadow minister. Unsafe pavements, including approaches to bus stops, and cycle lanes that abruptly end expose gaps in mobility policy. Poorly coordinated closures underline the need for agencies to plan together. Parking is another pressing concern, deserving an article of its own.

Every one of these difficulties tests whether our transport policy works in practice. A journey begins at the front door, and the ability to reach a bus safely matters as much as the service promised on paper.

Listening must also shape Parliament. My proposal to shorten the procedural period governing private members' business from ninety to forty-five days would give MPs more frequent opportunities to advance ideas. Government backbenchers and Opposition members bring concerns from the people they represent. Those concerns deserve debate and scrutiny.

Across this week's work, the responsibility is the same: institutions must listen, evidence must guide decisions, and cooperation must remain accountable. The maritime sector demonstrates the value of continuity and common purpose. Residents deserve that same seriousness outside their front doors.

Our hand of friendship remains extended. We will contribute constructively, challenge shortcomings and insist on improvement. Cooperation cannot become an excuse for complacency.

Let us put it to work so people get home safely, businesses can plan confidently and fewer hours of Maltese life disappear on the road.

Ivan Castillo is the Opposition Whip and Shadow Minister for Sustainable Mobility