Busuttil ‘shooting from the hip’ on LNG power plant claims – Muscat

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil will remain known for his negativity and for shooting from the hip, without considering matters, according to prime minister Joseph Muscat.

Muscat, who was speaking in a live interview on One TV, criticised Busuttil’s claims that the LNG power plant in Marsaxlokk was not necessary to meet the country’s power demands.

“If we listened to Busuttil and did not utilise the LNG power plant, the country would be without electricity for 700 hours every year, nearly one month,” he said.

“While the opposition leader persists in shooting from the hip and making such statements without studying the issue, this government continues to look ahead, and considering the country’s economic growth forecast for the next 10 to 15 years.”

Opposition shooting from hip on energy and rest. Insistence on not having new power plant means deficit of 700 hours without electricity -JM

— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) November 6, 2016

Muscat said that Busuttil had behaved the same way in the issue of the minimum wage.

“In the concluding speeches in parliament on the 2017 budget estimates, I made it clear that the government had already raised the minimum wage in some instances this year, and that we are prepared to discuss the issue further next year to determine whether a raise in the minimum wage is warranted,” he said.

Muscat said that Busuttil did not mention the minimum wage in his comments, and only came out publicly with his support for a raise only after a number of NGOs had joined forces to propose a 3.5% annual raise in the minimum wage, for three years.

The prime minister said the government remained committed to attracting more work and investment to the country.

“The inauguration this week of one of the world’s largest hangars dedicated to the spray-painting of airplanes, will provide employment for 80 people,” he said.

The hangar, owned by a Dutch company which had applied for the development in 2010, will be able to accommodate aircraft of all size, including the Airbus A380 double-decker plane.