Opposition in protest walk-out from parliament

The opposition yesterday walked out from parliament and did not take part in the final budget vote in what Opposition Leader Alfred Sant said was a symbolic gesture to reflect the people's anger at the budget measures and the government's incompetence.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi described the opposition's action as a gimmick which devalued democracy and demonstrated irresponsibility.

The opposition walk out took place immediately after Dr Sant concluded the opposition's remarks in the budget debate. The budget was later approved with no contest.

In his speech, Dr Sant said the fundamental question which this budget raised was about the government's seriousness.

Malta needed a government with a vision but the budget that had been presented cast no new light at the end of the tunnel. The budget included anti-social measures which would not get the country anywhere.

The people wanted realism not empty talk. How could Dr Gonzi continue to speak about the Delimara power station when there had been so much corruption that Lm100 million were wasted and Malta still depended on the Marsa power station?

And how could the government speak on the university when the students faced a lack of books and use of photocopiers?

The government was not recognising the country's problems. The army, which was under the direct responsibility of the Prime Minister, lacked direction and had lopsided priorities, apart from ongoing discrimination which a Labour government would rectify.

The opposition was proposing the setting up of a commission headed by, say, Martin Scicluna, to assess how the AFM as well as the police, could make the best use of the resources available to them. This should not be a political football.

The government boasted of progress, but what it did was tax, spend and continue to borrow. Taxation this year and next year would absorb Lm21 weekly from an average family of four.

This was an incompetent government which did not keep its word. The government promised last year that revenue from the increase in VAT would go to a health account. Nothing had happened. The government also promised ad hoc accounts for the environment, the roads and tourism, which had not come about.

Government incompetence was reflected in the way how Parliament would (today) discuss another motion on the development of Fort Chambray. The government 12 years ago had ignored opposition warnings not to hand over this prime site to Italian lawyer Memmo but it had carried on regardless and Memmo had now left after making Lm2 million while Chambray was still a desert.

The government also ignored warnings against handing the management of Maltapost to a New Zealand company. It carried on, and the service sank to its lowest levels ever.

At Maghtab, had dumping stopped?

At the new hospital, spending would be approaching Lm250 million.

The White Rocks project remained a dump. The government had spent Lm10 million on Dar Malta, and refurbishment had not yet started. The building could not be used for another two years.

Everybody knew of the disaster in the development of Cirkewwa. Even the design of the Gozo ferries was mistaken.

The government tried to blame others for its failure. It blamed Labour over the Brindisi fiasco, but he had received correspondence from Labour MEP John Attard Montalto which showed that it was the Nationalist government which started to invest in this bankrupt port, and invested a further Lm4 million this year. The investment started in the year 2000.

The problem was that this government agreed with all foreigners which came this way, so that they would then issue cheques for its fund-raising marathons.

It was not true that the surcharge on power had been imposed because of the increase in the price of oil. This was an attempt by the government to hide its mistakes and inefficiency at Enemalta. And one could not compare the way kerosene prices had been raised astronomically by the present government with the rise of a few cents under Labour. The new increase was detrimental to factories, bakeries, the poultry industry, hotels and textile firms apart from the elderly and workers' families.

Because of such an irresponsible budget, the opposition would take a stand and as a symbolic gesture, the opposition would stay away from the vote on the budget supplementary estimates.

At the end of Dr Sant's speech, which marked the end of the time allocated to the opposition for the budget debate, all the members of the opposition walked out of the House and attended a press conference where Dr Sant explained the opposition's protest.

Winding up the debate, Dr Gonzi said that that what the opposition had done reflected the Leader of the Opposition's political gimmicks. In the face of the challenges the country was facing, the opposition had washed its hands and acted irresponsibly. It was the country's misfortune that in a time of challenges and opportunities the opposition had shirked its responsibilities.

After having made his gross mistake of proposing the devaluation of the lira without consulting his own party or parliamentary group, a move which was detrimental to the country, Dr Sant was clearly trying to come up with something to hide his actions.

After having proposed a devaluation of the lira, Dr Sant was now devaluing democracy as his gimmick had come about at the most important time of the legislative calendar. Dr Sant was showing that the opposition did not want to contribute to the good of the country.

Indeed this lack of seriousness had long been coming. Although the opposition had officially walked out now, no one from the opposition had been present in the morning sitting when the House debated the budget of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance. The members of the opposition had demanded answers but had not stayed to hear them. And now Dr Sant had run away from facing questions about his own proposals for the budget.

In not being present for the budget vote the opposition was saying it did not want the House to appropriate the millions needed for pensions, economic growth, education and health, among others, as well as the incentives for industry and the self employed announced in the budget. This was nothing more than childish behaviour.

Indeed, the opposition had also shirked its responsibilities by not even commenting on the proposals in the pensions reform white paper, published with the budget.

The opposition walk out had come at a time when there was national sentiment urging both sides to try to work together in the interests of the country. But the opposition was running scared.

Dr Sant in his speech had accused the government of lacking seriousness yet he had changed his proposal on devaluing the lira three times. This subject should not really be the stuff of public debate, but government failure to react could have been interpreted as meaning that the government was considering such a proposal.

Dr Gonzi said he wanted to make it clear that Dr Sant's proposal was unacceptable and would be detrimental to the country in current circumstances.

Reacting to other parts of Dr Sant's speech, Dr Gonzi said that the fact that the government was moving a motion on Fort Chambray once more showed that the government wanted to get this project moving in the interests of Gozo.

Dr Sant had claimed that Lm100 million had been wasted on the Delimara power station. But where would Malta be now had that power station not been built?

He also spoke about a lack of photocopy paper at the University, but it was PN governments which had built the university and given thousands of youths a new future. It also invested in MCAST after Labour governments had dismantled that institution.

PN governments also built the airport ad the reverse osmosis plants. That was seriousness, not gimmicks.

Dr Sant had also repeated his claim that the new hospital would cost Lm250 million when he had the chance to help the government he chose instead to take a position which tried to undermine it.

When the purchase of Dar Malta was discussed in the House Public Accounts Committee, Dr Sant had not walked out. He simply did not turn up.

In the case of Maghtab, Dr Sant as Prime Minister only flew over the dump, and as Leader of the opposition his proposal was to keep it open.

Dr Gonzi said the government was proud of the investment it had made in the new Gozo ferries and he hoped that the Gozitans had heard what he had to say about them. This, after all, was the man who had not even appointed a minister for Gozo.

As for the investment in the Brindisi terminal, it was then Labour minister John Attard Montalto who had signed the agreement with the Mayor of Brindisi, who had since been accused of corruption.

Dr Gonzi referred to the increase in the price of kerosene and said the government was sensitive to the impact which the price increase would have on industry. As a result talks were being held with Enemalta on the importation of a substitute fuel which would be cheap and could be used by industry, but could not be mixed with diesel.

Concluding, Dr Gonzi said the opposition was being brilliant only in irresponsibility. The government believed Malta could do well quickly and was committed to taking the decisions that were needed to bring about progress. It expected a sense of responsibility and political maturity from the opposition but would not be hindered by any obstacles which it tried to put in its way.

The budget votes were then approved nem con.