Pro-divorce lobby spent €30,000 – Bartolo
Labour MP reveals sum spent by divorce lobby, says Labour will not remove no-fault principle in divorce proceedings.
4 July 2011, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
2 min read
Labour MP Evarist Bartolo today said in parliament that the pro divorce lobby spent €30,000 in its campaign, mainly from donations in kind and other financial assistance from donors.
The figure, revealed by Bartolo during his intervention in the first reading of the divorce bill tonight in parliament, pales in significance to the €230,000 that the no movement said it had spent in its campaign. Three-quarters of this treasure chest was financed by the Church.
Both Bartolo and Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando reiterated much of the statements that took centre-stage during the divorce campaign. But Pullicino Orlando said he hoped the Labour party will be upholding the spirit of the divorce bill that was approved by 53% of voters in the divorce referendum.
The divorce bill provides spouses with the option to freely decide whether to proceed with a no-fault divorce, where the two jointly agree how assets and maintenance is allocated, or not.
Should one of the spouses wish to opt for a fault-based divorce, the proposed bill allows either spouse the right to request that the separation clauses within the Civil Code that deal with fault, and its consequences, apply to the divorce proceedings.
Party sources have told MaltaToday that Labour could ask for an amendment to introduce fault-based property and asset separation in all divorce proceedings.
Bartolo also said in parliament that there should be no amendments that will change the spirit of the law as approved by the majority of the electorate. “This parliament is tied to uphold the main principles of this divorce bill – the four-year duration of separation and broken-down marriage, the guarantee of maintenance, and that it is a no-fault divorce.”
The Labour MP said he saw the amendments proposed by the MPs to the party’s technical committee, and that there was no amendment to remove no-fault divorce.
Pullicino Orlando said no-fault divorce was a primary element in the divorce campaign, which he said was attacked incorrectly as a ‘divorce without reason’. “I feel that it is important that we learn from overseas and don’t consider introducing a fault-based divorce… if couples’ marriages break down irremediably, they would have to invent a fault to divorce. So if they cannot find a legal way to get a divorce, they would just pass through some back door to get that divorce.”
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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The Church funded €180,000 and the Archbishop said he wished e gave more if they could have.
Then every now and then Church run institute organise marathon campaigns and ask the people to donate money either to keep them running or to give a smile to somebody else. I think that Cremona would have done better to give the €180,000 to the fir example Dar tal-Providenza, than wasting it on a campaign of half truths, mixing and mashing of the bible etc.
I do not understand why they have to rely on people's donations when they have all that wealth in churches, owning of lands, a bank, etc.
This brings e to the conclusion: they do not need my money. My money have better use when I give them to NGOs lie Puttinu Cares and Life Cycle because NGOs do not have a backing apart from the kindness of the people on the street.
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Bejn il-linji qal ''wara erba snin kemm jibghat il-karta li qisu qatt ma kien hemm xejn bejniethom''. Nabel mijja fil mijja.
Imma din sejjra taghmel xi differenza. Le, xejn.............Kief hi illlum mhux l'istess. Jitlaq jewn titlaq mid-dar u imur/tmur joqogod ma haddiehor. Bid-divorce ghallinqas taf fejn int. Bhallisa kollox hallata ballata.........
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A truly hilarious comment by Andre Vella (below). Pl did not move any amendments because of Alternattiva LOL LOl LOl LOl LOL...Alternattiva is simply obsessed being the mouse that roars (or tries to)
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Iz-zejt tiela fil-wicc....NO fault kien element principali mela kulhadd jaf li meta ivvota iva ivvota biex min ghandu t-tort fit-tkissir taz-zwieg bil-ligi jiehu ragun ghax wara erba snin kemm jibghat il-karta li qisu qatt ma kien hemm xejn bejniethom u naturalment fejn hemm it-tfal dawn...... IMSIEKEN...
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@tarxienizi Imma kemminti kurjuz x'jimpurtak kemm izjed anzi li kont jien lanqas ic-cifra ta' €30,000 ma kont insemmi. Forsi li qed tahseb inli lihemm izjed gejjin minn nahhat tal-LE halli jkunu dehru sbieh man-nahha tat-tnejn siehbi. Jien lanqas biss jinteressani kemm nafqu ta' l-Iva la kemm harget il-knisja, la kemm il-PN u l-inqas il-Gvern ghax nahseb xi ftit risorsi minn nahha tal-Gvern intuzaw ukoll.
Maureen Attard •
Li jidhru, €30,000. Kemm izjed li ma jidhrux ma nafux.
Gilbert Bartolo •
for the labour affacionados whining hereunder just in case they are too busy burning incense in front of pictures of the great and glorious leader ... it was sources within Labour who told MALTATODAY that Labour intends to amend the bill... yes sure 'PN stooges'...well anyone who doesn't support labour is PN i suppose in your little simple minds....
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PL chickened out from putting forward their proposals after AD's pressure! PN stooges? Don't blame AD for PL's crass idiocy..
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They are PN stooges...always were always will be.
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Will AD have the decency to apologise for accusing PL of “betrayal” when it now turns out that they jumped the gun??
For some reason, I don’t think they have it in them…….
