FAA calls PN environment policy ‘step in the right direction’

Flimkien għal Ambjent Ahjar has welcomed the Nationalist Party’s policy document for the environment, referring in particular to its ODZ policy.

“FAA supports the proposal that any development in ODZ should be submitted to the utmost scrutiny and only considered if it is in the national interest and approved by a two-thirds parliamentary majority,” it said, adding that it however maintains that such a motion should be conclusive on the first vote.

“Allowing it to be debated three times, with the last ballot a simple majority vote, would open the door to permitting unacceptable projects,” it said, adding that the concept of ‘national interest’ is to be scrupulously established to avoid the mistakes of the past.

FAA added that the document, places the well-being of the person at the centre of the PN environmental policy, aiming to enhance the liveability of Malta’s towns and villages.

“This is in fact the focus of FAA’s remit, as the eNGO maintains that once quality of life and health is the priority, protection of the wider environment follows,” it said.

It went on to praise the PN for proposing to safeguard the commons: the air, water, land, open spaces, culture and cultural heritage, and natural landscapes, and called the PN’s recognition of these environmental elements, along with good governance and long-term planning as being essential to the country’s economic development, “refreshing”.

FAA also added that it supports the stand that holistic planning, a more detailed SPED and the Local Plans need to be in place before applications for tall buildings in development zones should be processed.

“This is not just a regulatory issue: roads and especially public transport, water, electricity and drains need to be upgraded to ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place, “ it said, questioning whether tall buildings can be justified since Malta has a glut of 40,000 empty housing units and not enough workforce to handle existing projects, let alone some thirteen skyscrapers.

“Malta has reached a watershed moment in urban planning with recent polls showing that most Maltese identify traffic, an environmental issue, as the most pressing problem that Malta is facing,” FAA said.

“The present Government’s approach is to promote out-dated and misguided solutions in order to enrich certain interests at the cost of the public. Malta needs strong leadership and long-term vision that has the courage to steer a new course, and the policies outlined in the PN document are a significant step in the right direction.”

Addressing an extraordinary general conference, Prime Minister and Labour leader Joseph Muscat hit out at the PN's proposal on ODZ, insisting that what the PN was in reality proposing “puts decisions in the hands of politicians”.

Speaking at an extraordinary general conference of the Labour Party, Muscat insisted that an in-depth analysis of the PN’s proposal would actually result in the government taking a decision, irrespective of whether a two-thirds majority were to be reached in parliament or not.

While reiterating that his government would seek parliamentary mandate in cases where ODZ boundaries need to be changed, Muscat said that Busuttil was putting forward a proposal that gave further power to politicians.

“I disagree that politicians should be the ones to decide on projects. This should be handled by the technical people. The one good thing that the previous PN administrations did was the setting up of a planning authority that placed the onus on the experts,” he said.