Rebel MP Franco Debono yesterday said he would vote against the Budget as Parliament reconvened, even as the Government suspended the tendering process to privatise public car parks.
Mr Speaker, I do not want to waste anybody’s time but I will vote against it
The decision to stop the car parks tender came just an hour before a meeting of Parliament’s House Business Committee.
Dr Debono had already declared his support for the Opposition’s motion calling for the tendering process to stop.
The Opposition had insisted its motion be debated with urgency because the tendering process closed at the end of October.
Leader of the House Tonio Borg argued during the committee meeting that the decision to suspend the tendering process had removed the need for urgency.
But he was caught by surprise when independent MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Dr Debono – who attended the committee and were allowed to speak – insisted the car parks motion should still be debated with urgency, irrespective of the Government’s decision.
Dr Debono even put forward a hand-written amendment, which he presented to the Clerk of the House, to turn the Labour motion into a vote of no confidence in Transport Minister Austin Gatt.
When contacted, Dr Gatt said (see story: Gatt: Cabinet backed car park tender call) the privatisation of car parks was a collective decision taken by Cabinet and given that it did not enjoy a majority in Parliament he suggested the process be suspended.
The transport authority proposed to turn 34 parking areas into paid spots, replacing the current system of parking attendants receiving tips.
Local councils protested they were not consulted and PN whip David Agius yesterday morning admitted on television that constituents in his district were not happy with the move. Alternattiva Demokratika also criticised the lack of consultation.
‘An attempted abuse of power’
Tenders would have given successful bidders a 10-year licence to run the car parks. Operators would have been obliged to ensure 24-hour parking, adequate security, insurance cover and, in a few cases, free overnight parking.
Dr Pullicino Orlando applauded the Government for withdrawing the tendering process but said this proved something was wrong with the decision taken behind everybody’s back.
He insisted the motion be debated urgently because “somebody thought public land should be arbitrarily privatised and this was an attempted abuse of power.”
Labour whip Joe Mizzi noted that from what was said during the committee it was clear a majority of MPs wanted the motion to be debated and insisted on being given a date for the discussion.
Dr Borg said he was not ruling out that the motion would be discussed but could not give a commitment on a date yesterday. Mr Agius then asked the Opposition to give the Government some time to reconsider its position.
The matter will now crop up again on Thursday at another meeting of the House Business Committee. The Government enjoys a majority on the committee unless its composition is changed by a parliamentary resolution to give Dr Pullicino Orlando a seat and voting rights.
The meeting started with both sides of the House agreeing on October 15 as the date when the in-vitro fertilisation Bill will start to be debated.
But the cordial exchanges were interrupted by Dr Debono, who reiterated in no uncertain terms that he will vote against the Budget.
“Mr Speaker, I do not want to waste anybody’s time but I will be voting against the Budget. We are discussing these laws here but we will be living a lie if Parliament does not take cognisance of my declaration.”
If Dr Debono votes against the Budget the Prime Minister will be forced to call an election.
Parliament yesterday reconvened after a long summer recess but the sitting was a commemoration of former Labour Prime Minister Dom Mintoff who died in August.
Today’s sitting will see the start of the plenary debate on changes to the EU treaty in relation to the creation of a permanent bailout fund. Discussions have already been held at committee stage.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com