Editorial

It has been a good week for children in Parliament, but has anybody noticed?

On Monday, the House Social Affairs Committee pored over the 2005 report of the Commissioner for Children and heard the commissioner, Sonia Camilleri, express her concerns about children who somehow ended up in court.

In the following two days, the House started debating a Bill which will ban the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol to and by children.

Mrs Camilleri's comments on Monday were a plea for action. She told the committee children need a voice in the law courts. In far too many instances, children are becoming the source of a tug of war when their parents separate but they themselves are rarely ever being heard by the judges. Hardly anyone knows of the existence of lawyers whose task is to help children.

The committee heard that children also need help by social workers in court, but social workers are over-worked, under-paid and, consequently, in short supply. As a result, even court-requested reports sometimes take too long to be compiled.

Mrs Camilleri also complained that court cases where children are involved and could even be in danger - such as in paedophilia - are also taking too long to be heard and decided.

All this is worrying and cries out for a thorough assessment of the situation and ways to tackle it, including, as a member of the committee suggested, training for judges and staff on how to deal with children in court. That would complement other measures taken over the past few months to improve procedures on how children give evidence in court.

Labour MP Justyne Caruana was right to open her speech in the debate on alcohol consumption by saying "about time". Malta clearly does have a problem of early alcohol consumption and binge drinking by children and teenagers. Surveys have put Maltese youngsters among the top drinkers in 37 surveyed countries. One only needs to go to village feast band marches to see 13-year-olds, bottle in hand, swaying to the effects of drink rather than the beat... without breaking any law!

Better late than never, true, but why has it taken the legislator so long to come up with a two-page common sense Bill on banning alcohol for children? The minister piloting the Bill, Dolores Cristina, made the point in her opening remarks that, although this is the first time Malta is to have a minimum alcohol consumption age, the limit is among the lowest in the world. What was not explained, and clearly needs to be, was why go for a 16-year age limit and not, say, 18. Is it a problem of enforcement? Do the authorities see a need for a culture change before the age limit is raised?

In a recent television interview, Mrs Cristina said it is children's welfare that weighs most heavily on her mind as Minister for Social Solidarity. As a mother of four and a former teacher she is certainly the best placed to bring about change.

This is an issue that has many facets. No one can deny it is complicated. Some progress has been made - as evidenced, for example, by the appointment of the Commissioner for Children - but forward movement has to be constant, needs to be faster and must be backed with the mechanism and commitment necessary to make new laws and regulations work.

Mrs Camilleri summed it up beautifully in the title of her report: Children cannot wait.

Let's not let them down.