Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has been quoted as saying that he appointed three women to his government because they are talented and not because they are women.

I will not hazard a guess as to how many of the men he has appointed have been appointed because they are talented. Dr Gonzi was given a sharp lesson when, discussing the issue of quotas, he remarked to Astrid Lulling, of the EU committee for women's rights, that he was not in favour of such measures because positions might be filled by women who are not fully qualified. Surely that is easy to avoid considering the pool of qualified and capable women in most sectors but, still, Ms Lulling had asked: Since when has mediocrity barred men from occupying office?

Ms Lulling also pointed out that if, by some mischance, mediocre women are appointed, still they would not be enough to balance the many mediocre men that have been filling these posts for years. It seems that women in high places have to be super good but it doesn't seem to matter so much if men at such levels are not so good.

But the point I want to make in this piece is about the acknowledgement of talent which the Prime Minister was speaking about. If, as Dr Gonzi states, he recognises and rewards talent, how is it that he decided - as minister for women's rights - to discard a wealth of talent and experience in that field when the director of the department for women in society was transferred to the national library upon the department's abolishment?

This officer, with 30 years' experience in the area of gender issues, has been posted to the national library, an area where her talents, knowledge and expertise are, to say the least, under-employed and under-utilised. Perhaps she's been relegated to dust the bookshelves and moulder with so much of Malta's heritage.

Has Dr Gonzi simply ignored this officer's experience in the field of gender equality in bringing national legislation in line with EU requirements? In the drafting of the National Development Plan? In the Joint Assessment Programme? In the Joint Inclusion Memorandum? In the European Structural Funds, among the many other documents the EU is known for?

Has Dr Gonzi also disregarded this officer's participation in the EU consultation process and the support the department for women in society gave to other government departments who need to include gender equality as a horizontal priority in their EU programmes in order to be able to access funds? All this experience and expertise has been thrown out of the window locally. Although, thank goodness, it's a different story away from our shores, and this is underlined by her being invited - even at a personal level - to participate with other international experts in various fora and to give lectures on gender issues.

When, during question time in parliament, I queried Dr Gonzi about the logic of this sheer waste of expertise, he had no answer. Only the non sequitur that the department has been dismantled and that a commission has been set up in its stead. In the process a chief executive officer was assigned by direct appointment and thus without even the issue of a call for applications to give those who are qualified and who are interested the opportunity to apply.

How about that for a transparent and accountable selection process? How about that for recognising expertise and talent? Why were no interviews held so that the most experienced and the most capable in this field could compete for the post?

This was how the officer in question, the ex-director of the department of women in society - Ms Laiviera - had been chosen for the post; by a call for applications following normal procedure. Competing for the job was the previous director and others who applied for the post. The applicants were interviewed by a selection panel, unchanged from the one set up by the Nationalist government. Ms Laiviera had the best credentials and was chosen for the job.

Even though everything had been done strictly according to Public Service Commission regulations, the previous director - who was not chosen - claimed political discrimination. What shall we call it now that Ms Laiviera was not even given the opportunity to apply for the post of CEO and be called for an interview? The minister in charge then - when Ms Laiviera was exiled to the public library - was the same person who, now as Prime Minister, is saying that he chooses women because of their talent so that the country can benefit from their full potential.

We have also been hearing the Prime Minister stating repeatedly that we should judge him by his actions not by his words.

That is exactly what we are doing.

And it seems that the Prime Minister does not regard only the opposition as "empty bottles", as he once had called all of us. This in spite of his rhetoric on talent. But then we already know that for Dr Gonzi words come so easy.

Mrs Dalli is the Labour Party's main spokesman for public function and women's rights.