Construction seemed to be the only concern for environmental groups, the Prime Minister said yesterday as he brushed off criticism the Budget lacked green initiatives.
Joseph Muscat said the government had embarked on a series of projects that were beneficial to the environment, including the dismantling of the Marsa power station, the shift to gas in energy generation and the Budget measure to encourage the collection and proper disposal of plastic and aluminium.
“These are also environmental issues and, although I appreciate the criticism of environment groups and respect it, sometimes they adopt a restricted definition that is only linked to development,” Dr Muscat said.
The money given to these families is much more than any increase in the minimum wage could possibly give them
He said the splitting of the planning and environment authority next year would strengthen the environmental aspect. The government would be setting up a new environment and resources authority, distinct from the planning authority that would be responsible for handling building permits.
Flanked by Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech, Dr Muscat was addressing a press conference on the Budget at Auberge de Castille.
Dr Muscat said the Opposition was making conflicting statements when it criticised the Budget as socially unjust. “It makes no sense that Opposition leader Simon Busuttil should criticise the income tax reduction as socially unjust when the measure was originally proposed by the PN.”
He said the Labour Party had adhered to its pledge to keep the three-step reduction in the top tax rate for those who earned less than €60,000, which had been promised by the PN in 2008.
But the Budget also had measures that targeted the socially disadvantaged with substantial hand-outs for families with children, Dr Muscat added.
“The money given to these families is much more than any increase in the minimum wage could possibly give them,” he said.
Dr Muscat said the Budget tackled benefit abuse but also had measures to encourage inactive people to join the labour market.
The Prime Minister welcomed the debate on fuel prices, insisting that contrary to what happened in the past, people were discussing how cheap it should be rather than how expensive it would be.
Prof. Scicluna fended off criticism that the measures intended to encourage single mothers to go out and work failed to address the phenomenon of unknown fathers.
“The measure that introduces tapering for benefits if two people get married will encourage couples to take the step rather than shy away from it out of fear that benefits will be lost.”