Updated with PL, AD statements
The 10-day extension given in the consultation period on the new power station and LNG tanker was not enough and could not be taken as a sincere gesture, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said today.
In a letter to Environment and Resources Authority chairman Victor Axiaq (see pdf link below), Dr Busuttil referred to Prof. Axiaq’s letter informing him that the 30-day consultation period was being extended by 10 days.
He said that to conclude a consultation process in 40 instead of 30 days was confirmation of how much the authority wanted to hasten its final approval and discourage people from taking part in the process.
If the authority had already decided to approve the permit before it had even considered it, Dr Busuttil said, it should say so.
He called on Prof. Axiaq to revise his decision and extend the consultation period reasonably so as to give everyone the chance to participate in it.
He also hoped that consultation meetings would not be held before everyone had enough time to analyse the information.
Extension is a joke - Arnold Cassola
In a Facebook post, Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola described the extension as a joke daħqa fil-wicc.
"Prof. Victor Asciak, try giving your students at university 38 days to study 15,000 pages and then sit for the exam!
"I am convinced that if they do not eat you alive (metaphorically, of course), the least they would do is report you the rector, KSU, Ethics committee or what not," Prof. Cassola said.
Opposition does not want conversion to gas - Labour Party
In a statement, the Labour Party said the real reason Dr Busuttil wanted to extend the consultation process was because he did not want the conversion to gas to take place.
He wanted electricity to continue to be generated with heavy fuel oil.
The PL pointed out that the fact there were 15,000 pages of documentation reflected the fact that things had been done well.
Attached files