The age of change

At the invitation of Friends of the Earth, I attended the global premiere of the film The Age of Stupid. I think that this must be one of the few films or documentaries that deal objectively with the theme of climate change. This premiere coincided with the summit of the United Nations (UN) about climate change held in New York this same week. One hopes that the objective of the summit to mobilise political commitment will be reached and that, in turn, this will strengthen the momentum needed to forge a new accord on international climate change in Copenhagen this December.

As it happened, yesterday I presented, on behalf of the government, the National Strategy for Policy and Abatement Measures Relating to the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. This strategy lists 96 recommendations to reduce emissions. The publication of the document is the result of an extensive consultation process with various stakeholders and the public.

A new division forming part of the remit of the Malta Resources Authority will be responsible for the implementation of the strategy, however, because there is need for input from various ministries to reach our objectives, it was agreed that an inter-ministerial committee is set up to oversee and coordinate the work streams emanating from the strategy. A consultative committee will also simultaneously be set up. This mechanism should serve to ensure that civil society will also be an active participant in the strategy's implementation process.

To ensure sufficient dissemination of information, we will be distributing a leaflet to all households highlighting the salient points of the strategy. We will be discussing this strategy in Parliament at the beginning of next week and one looks forward to having a mature debate that will prove we are ready to do our part to prevent a self-inflicted man-made disaster - September 23.

You restored my freedom

"Thank you for having restored my freedom." A gentleman I met recently greeted me with these words. To be honest, I didn't immediately cotton on to what he was saying. Then he continued: "You took a decision that helped me transform my life". He explained that he was referring to the decision to facilitate the entry into Malta of a number of guide dogs for the visually-impaired.

Our regulations stipulate that when a dog is brought into Malta it needs to be quarantined for 30 days to ensure it does not carry any contagious diseases. A couple of months ago, we had received a request to exclude guide dogs from these regulations, on the basis of the fact that guide dogs undergo a six-month training period and keeping the dogs in quarantine for a month will greatly diminish the dogs' alertness. We discussed this request with Anthony Gruppetta, our chief veterinarian, and because the argument was a valid one, he agreed to grant an exemption and allow guide dogs to be quarantined in their new owners' residence instead.

This gentleman explained how the labrador has facilitated his life and made him less reliant on other people. He said that all he needs to do is, say, for example, "church" and the labrador immediately guides him to the village church. He just utters "bus" and he's taken to the nearest bus-stop.

He explained that today the dog accompanies him to work and is with him all day. I enjoyed listening to how an administrative decision served to help persons with special needs enjoy a better quality of life - September 21.

Still going strong

I enjoyed listening to Michael Refalo's "political last will and testament " - this is the term that Michael coined - during a brief ceremony held yesterday at the Nationalist Party's office in Sliema when he was honoured for his political contribution to the party and to the country, 32 years of which were spent in Parliament as an MP. I've known Michael for eons. In fact, Michael himself commented about this when chatting with the Prime Minister after the ceremony: "I remember George being born," he joked. Michael has always been a hard-working politician gifted with an incisive writing style. It was surely not by chance that he spent many years as editor of the PN's Sunday newspaper Il-Mument.

Although today retired from public life, he does not seem to have lost any of his enthusiasm for politics and he delivered a very convincing address that served to inspire his audience. He emphasised how important unity was between MPs and that the aim should be one and one alone: that of empowering the PN to be an "instrument of change". He declared that the PN could only be an instrument of change if it remains committed towards its principles of liberty and solidarity and if its lines of communication with the electorate remain open.

Michael dedicated the medal awarded to him last night to his wife and family who shared his ups and downs in the political arena.

He also dedicated it to all those who lent him a helping hand: the persons who worked with him when he was a minister as well as those who supported both himself and the PN because they believe in the aims the party is striving for; individuals who remained steadfast in their principles in spite of the threats and intimidation they endured during the 16 years of Labour Administration.

I was struck by one of his remarks in particular: "We must remain resolute even when faced with criticism. I remember that when we were elected in 1987, there were individuals who expected us to avenge the wrongdoings committed by the previous Administration. But we stood our ground because when we were in opposition we learnt that we must desist from doing what we don't wish others to do to us." Firm words indeed coming from a politician who spent so many years in the service of others - September 13.

The author is Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs.

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