Speaker directs MP to Google after PQ complaint

Speaker Anglu Farrugia told Opposition MP Robert Cutajar that the answers to a parliamentary question he had requested a ruling over are available online.

Cutajar had requested a Speaker’s ruling, after justice minister Owen Bonnici refused to table copies of eight specific minutes of the Mellieha local council’s meetings.

The Opposition MP said that local councils are obliged by law to publish copies of their minutes online.

“I wouldn’t have had a problem tabling minutes of meetings of a government entity, but a distinction must be made with regards local councils as they are autonomous from government,” Bonnici responded. “Besides, I am in no position to verify the accuracy of the minutes, and I risk legitimising them if I table them.”

In his ruling, Anglu Farrugia said that he doesn’t have the power to tell interfere in the content of ministers’ answers to parliamentary questions.

“While it is not up to me to ensure whether local councils’ minutes are available online or not, but I checked and I can tell you that they are indeed available online.”