[WATCH] PM says environment a priority for government

Prime Minister Robert Abela said the environment is one of government’s top priorities.

He said this will be shown through the laying of a second interconnector and through the EU Green Deal.

The Labour leader was interviewed by ONE News journalist Colin Deguara on the party’s radio station.

Abela said government wants to change the situation of infrastructure in Malta being a liability.

He also brushed off claims government copied the idea of a second interconnector from the Nationalist Party. “We would have increased the water and electricity bills had we copied the PN.”

He was also critical of the way the PN proposed the plan of the interconnector, insisting the PN "did not think in the long term" in terms of the amount of electricity that the country would need.

"The growth of the economy and the demand for electricity go hand in hand. The PN either didn't have enough vision, or it didn't think that the economy will grow," he said.

He said the country will be looking to switch to hydrogen in the coming years, in order to abide by targets, set by the EU Green Deal.

"We are looking at eventually switching to hydrogen. Hydrogen is not a dream, but it is a long-term project," he said.

Touching up on how the party has managed to attract new individuals, despite it being in government for a number of years, the PM said that Labour legislature will last until June 2022.

“The reality is, this legislature will last until next June, but we need to think about the next five and ten years, and to make sure we have the tools to work because at the end of the day, it’s the individuals that make the government.”

Speaking COVID-19 and its impacts on the economy, Abela said that although the pandemic was negative as a whole, one has to look at the positives that emerged from it.

“The reality is that if it wasn't for the pandemic, digitalisation would have taken years," he said. “If we resist change, we will fall behind.”

The PM said feedback from the private sector on government measures during the pandemic was a positive one. “They appreciate the way the Government guided them in difficult times.”

Abela also said that without the IIP Scheme, an €8 million donation to Hospice Malta would not have been possible.

"One has to see the benefits it has created and how many people it helped... very serious people have invested in our country," he said.