Opposition spokesperson for Social Dialogue and Civil Liberties Claudette Buttigieg said the government had not consulted enough people on civil unions, especially on the issue of adoption.

Dr Buttigieg said that the government talked to LGBT organisations, but it ignored the Nationalist Party, even though the latter had requested to be consulted.

Why was the Bill not brought before the House Social Affairs Committee or the Family Affairs Committee? Were Appoġġ, social workers, psychologists consulted?

Several government MPs were not satisfied with the situation, she said. Would it not have made more sense to discuss strengthening adoption laws after listening to what the experts had to say?

Earlier, Dr Buttigieg said that the cardinal rule in adoption should always be the child’s best interest. However, the Bill was making adoption an adults’ right.

The Bill did not provide for certain situations such as that of a person who having obtained a divorce and who had children, seeking to enter into a civil union with another person.

The law was ambiguous and open to several interpretations. People did not understand the legal implications of a civil union, such as alimony, benefits and pensions. “Why should annulment be included in the Bill when a civil union is a contract?”

Concluding, Dr Buttigieg said the PN agreed with a good civil unions law that would not depend on other laws. It should not create anomalies that would result in injustices.

Opposition MP Ċensu Galea said the Civil Rights Minister had to be cautious in quoting from the survey done by the Foundation Rights Agency across the EU which concluded that Maltese society was not inclusive particularly with regard to gay people.

He said the survey, which had 93,000 respondents, represented a very small percentage of the EU population. This was not a scientific study and certain information in it was conflicting.

The Opposition’s amendments to the Bill would reflect Malta’s present realities and he hoped these would be accepted by the government, Mr Galea said.

He also referred to adoption, saying one had to ensure children’s rights were respected in considering adoption by gay persons adding – one had to be cautious before trying to be too liberal.

Nationalist MP Mario Galea said the most controversial point of the Bill was adoption and local surveys showed many people were concerned. The consultative process could have addressed popular misconceptions on the Bill, which was not even discussed by any parliamentary committee.

This would have heard the opinions of experts on the matter.

He criticised the government for not conducting a social impact assessment as this would have brought out positive and negative aspects of the issue.