My imaginary script for Robert

This is my script for Robert Abela as he steps onto the podium on Sunday to address the first Labour Party general conference after the general election

Delegates and friends,

Welcome to this conference. Thank you for being here.

This year has been a momentous year for the Labour Party. We won an election; our fourth legislature. It was a first for Malta and a first for the Labour Party. We must be doing something right to win the trust of Maltese and Gozitans.

(Pause and wait for applause)

In all sectors we have managed to attain records. Our economy is driven by a service industry, unstoppable tourist industry and by construction.  And we have exciting prospects of more investment from abroad.

Today, our families have more money to spend, more time to travel and more projects to plan. Malta, today, also continues to attract high end individuals who want to make Malta their home and their base for business.

It is clear to everyone that having a Labour government is a guarantee for success.

(Pause and wait for applause)

We have also embarked on social reforms that will make this country more just, more progressive and more European. Courageous reforms that will allow our country to offer its citizens the best and only the best.

We are part of a global system, so it is my duty to remind you of the conflicts that persist around us. The human tragedy in Gaza and the Occupied Territories in Palestine, the tensions in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz and the war in Ukraine.

These conflicts continue to impact the world in so many ways, including the price of fuel.

We won an election with an electoral manifesto that promises to give the people the best possible country to live in.

But we do not live in a cocoon, and the world is changing around us. We must be ready to change too; to learn to adapt.

Clyde Caruana has been talking of the government’s commitment to sustain and retain the subsidies on electricity and fuel. But we all know that these subsidies are now close to €400 million. We will keep our commitment, but we must strive to cut our waste and abuse. And it is my intention to ensure that measures are taken to introduce a capping when it comes to consumption and to penalise waste.

We also believe that the consumption of subsidised fuel should be restricted to essential services and the purchase of fuel for non-essential services should be limited.

We need to inculcate a sense of responsibility and from next week, all government agencies and departments will introduce a set of measures to mitigate the use of electricity and water.

(Pause and hope for applause)

When we look at people and what they think, we know that their major concerns are population growth, traffic and planning.

We cannot go on believing that these are not problems.

We must also understand that these problems do not have immediate solutions.

On planning I would like to announce that with immediate effect, all new hotel applications will be frozen. 

With immediate effect all town cores where maisonettes comprise more than 70% of the townscape will not be considered for apartment blocks or demolitions.

A technical committee will be set up to propose a skyline policy for the Maltese islands, to safeguard the historical and cultural identity of our towns and villages.

We also need to review our policies on tables and chairs, noise and fireworks. We need to remember that our communities are being neglected, and side lined.

On traffic, we are considering a comprehensive plan to encourage logistics to distribute before or after the rush hours to avoid congestion. For schools to have alternative opening hours and for the creation of shuttle services for key business areas to avoid grid lock. And for the construction of three underground parking lots in three crucial nodes.

We will also accelerate our plans on an alternative travel system to move away from our dependence on the private car. In this regard, I have asked Jonathan Attard and Chris Bonett to leave no stone unturned to realise this project.

This country needs to make radical changes. We complain that we cannot find Maltese for skilled jobs but we forget that we have failed to raise a generation of skilled Maltese artisans, and we have not tried hard enough to elevate the status of artisans in our society.  They are the backbone of every industry and economy. 

Byron Camilleri has a top priority to rekindle this. Not to replicate the trade schools system but to ensure that we create a generation of Maltese and Gozitan artisans.

That will make us less dependent on foreign labour and third country nationals.

We will never be fully independent of foreign nationals, but we must try everything in our power to encourage Maltese to take up these jobs.

To do so, I have instructed a technical team to investigate an attractive tax structure for Maltese who take up these essential jobs.

Malta needs new service industries, but we have no footprint or space for foreign direct investment. To release precious land caught up in litigation, we will introduce a bill that circumvents the legal hurdles that have stopped us from taking back precious public land.

Social justice has always been a pillar for the Labour Party, but to achieve this we must ensure that what is due to the State is realised. Tax evasion must be stamped out and I have asked for a revisit of our tax evasion mechanism. We must ensure that those who evade tax are identified, and dues paid. 

The same applies to the misuse or abuse of free services and medicines and products whether they are contributions or freebies. Those who are not entitled to them should be removed as recipients.

I cannot fail to mention justice and the rule of law. I thank Glenn Bedingfield for his sterling work. Thank you, Glenn.

(Wait for applause)

You, like me, were shocked by the verdict in the Yorgen Fenech case. 

Daphne Caruana Galizia was a staunch critic of the Labour Party, but no one had a right to take away her life. And I together with the rest of Malta pray for justice.

We must also be humble and accept responsibility for our faults.

For this we apologise.

But the judicial proceedings were independent, and the outcome reveals a shortcoming in our system.

To this end I will be setting up a technical commission to investigate reforming the prosecution office and to make suggestions regarding the jury system.

They will have five months to report and when they do, we will implement what is needed to ensure justice.

Justice is not a privilege; it is a must for a democratic and free country. 

It is Labour who implements reforms.

(Look around and pause and wait for applause).

I am not happy with the way things have evolved but at this point I must be careful on what I say.  But I must state that justice must be served and that true justice never looks at the colour of your beliefs.

As the leader of the party, I also know that I need to dedicate more time to the party. To encourage more young people to join our ranks, for more creative thinking in our ranks.

We also need to change our idea of doing politics.

Today, I wrote to PN leader Alex Borg, proposing that we start discussing steps to dissolve our party stations and to create a state TV structure that will offer a set up with different editorial slants similar to Rai 1, Rai 2 and Rai 3.

I am taking the first step, now the ball is in Dr Borg’s court.

This is the first year of our fourth legislature. This is the time to dream and the time to start making changes. You can be part of the change.

My dream is your dream. But for this to happen we must be willing to change.

Thank you.