MPs brace themselves for long night in parliament

Members of Parliament are in for a long night after the House of Representative agreed to conclude the Environment Protection Act today.

The bill’s second reading has been going on for several days now, with extra sittings taking place in order to finish it.

At 9.30pm, the committee was halfway through with 56 clauses to go (out of 105).

The object of the Bill is to make provision for development planning, and for the establishment of an authority.

Together with the Environment Protection Bill and the Planning Review Tribunal Bill, the three bills will result in the demerger of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

The committee, chaired by MP Censu Galea, has seen intense discussions between parliamentary secretary for planning Michael Falzon, Nationalist MPs Ryan Callus and Marthese Portelli and independent MP Marlene Farrugia.

Farrugia has made it a point to remind the Labour bench that she resigned the parliamentary group because “it was not respecting the promises of transparency and good governance” made to the electorate in the 2013 general election.

“In the name of transparency, I vote with the opposition,” she could be heard saying several times every time a vote was called.

Farrugia also presented a series of amendments, on behalf of Alternattiva Demorkatika.