[attach id=293057 size="medium"]Joseph Muscat says it is ironic the PN says Labour’s reputation has been hit. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi[/attach]
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told Parliament yesterday that it was ironic that while the Opposition insisted Malta was losing its reputation because of the citizenship scheme, it had attracted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2015.
Dr Muscat also revealed that the Nationalist Government had taken the Labour Party to court on the Australia Hall issue a few days after a third party had called on the PN to see whether they had any objection. The PN showed no opposition. However, two days later, the Director of Land filed the court case.
Dr Muscat claimed that his was an act of political vindictiveness against the Labour Party.
He spoke also on the free travel to Gozo during the weekend, saying that the number of people availing themselves of this opportunity outnumbered those crossing over to Gozo during the best three days of the Santa Maria feast for the past three years.
This was an act of political vindictiveness against the Labour Party
Similar initiatives would be organised for the whole of Malta.
Contrary to what Dr Busuttil had said, informal talks on the electoral law had been undertaken soon after the March election, with the government making a proposal that the Opposition refused and the government making another proposal – to which it is still waiting for an answer.
Interjecting, Beppe Fenech Adami said the government had proposed that local council elections would not be held for the whole legislature. He said that this did not concern the electoral law.
Michael Falzon confirmed that the talks centred on these elections, adding that the Opposition had to decide whether local elections formed part of electoral law. The Prime Minister also referred to the party financing Bill, saying the government was ready to start the parliamentary debate as of this week.
It did not move the Bill forward, so that it would not be criticised that it was doing so when the PN was in deep financial trouble.
Dr Muscat said that his vision as Prime Minster was to do his utmost to attract investment to Malta and to coordinate his team, which included two parliamentary secretaries and the commissioner for bureaucratic simplification, who enjoyed absolute autonomy in their work.
It was the government’s aim to do away with mediocre bureaucratic procedures.
He said that the Opposition’s criticism was not against the Budget measures, but tried to make people forget about it.
The Opposition voted against the increase in stipends, against lowering the highest income tax rate, against free child care and against reducting utility tariffs.
It also voted against the increase in the amount of income on which people working part-time would pay 15 per cent tax.
On the contrary, the PN had been planning to increase taxation by a further €26 million if it had won the elections.
Earlier Dr Falzon said Dr Busuttil should know that it had always been the PN to pull the carpet from under the House Select Committee discussing party funding.
In 2012 the PL and PN signed a draft agreement for Constitutional change, but the PN in government until 2013, had done nothing. It was now up to the Opposition to stop its foot-dragging and return to the negotiating table.
Parliamentary Secretary Owen Bonnici proposed the institution of a professional case manager in the courts to discuss new operational methods with the judiciary.
The members of the judiciary were very willing to consider all suggestions. He spoke about the advent of electronics to the justice sector, most of it in-house.
Deferments of cases, court decrees and transcribed testimony were now being distributed electronically. The eventual target was to have the whole civil register online.
The judiciary must send a strong message of seriousness to regain lost trust. The Commission for the Administration of Justice must be strengthened.
Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia spoke at length on Mepa and its restructuring.