Update 2 | PN and NGOs want Marlene Farrugia to chair environment committee, but Labour is not budging

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has announced that he will nominate Marlene Farrugia, the former Labour MP, to continue to serve as chair of the Parliamentary Environment Committee.

Farrugia resigned her chairmanship on Monday when she quit the Labour Parliamentary group, to retain her seat as an independent MP.

Uner the Environment and Planning Act - which is currently being debated for a revamp - the committee has to be composed by five MPs, three of which come from the government side, one of whom acts as chairman, and two from the Opposition.

The appointment of an independent MP would necessitate a change in the law itself.

Today we will nominate @marlenefarrugia as Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment and Planning. #therealchange

— Simon Busuttil (@SimonBusuttil) November 19, 2015

But Labour was instantly dismissive of the idea. "Simon Busuttil does not understand the basic points of democracy and parliamentary rules that require that the committee is led by a government member. He is at liberty to remove one of his members and appoint Farrugia to the committee."

The PN replied that Joseph Muscat was being stubborn by not changing the law itself which is being discussed right now in parliament. "This is a test of Muscat's credibility on the environment."

In a statement issued today, Front Harsien ODZ called on the Prime Minister to amend the law and reappoint Farrugia as committee chairman.

"Marlene Farrugia has distinguished herself in giving a meaningful voice to civil society in the democratic process and in the formulation of new planning policies and on controversial issues like the American University of Malta. She has also ensured greater transparency through the grilling of public officials involved in these decisions who had to answer questions by civil society," the front said.

This, Front Harsien ODZ said, represented a marked improvement over the way the committee was run under the previous administration when civil society was not invited to participate in these meetings.

"Therefore we strongly appeal to the Prime Minister to re-appoint Farrugia in this role. Such a mature decision would strengthen the government's democratic and environmental credentials. As an independent MP Farrugia would be in a better position to reach out to civil society."

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), Friends of the Earth Malta and Ramblers Association are also supporting Marlene Farrugia’s resignation following government’s refusal to allow greater civil society participation on the board of the new Environment Authority.

"This resignation comes as a breath of fresh air, clearly illustrating that politicians in Malta are able to stand by their conviction and integrity, as opposed to bowing to partisan pressure at every turn. Farrugia’s express wish to remain a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Environment and Planning should be taken seriously and honoured accordingly, in order to counteract the increased pressures on environment authorities by the development industry and its powerful lobbyists."

The eNGOs said that refusing Farrugia the committee's chairmanship would show that government wants to retain total control over all such appointments. "This is the moment of truth for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s claims to be truly democratic in all spheres, including environment.  The NGOs now call for clear action in exercising that very principle, by retaining Farrugia as chairperson of the said board."
Resignation

Farrugia finally broke ranks with the party she joined in 2003 as a prospective candidate, when she announced her resignation in a hand-written letter she gave to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Tuesday evening.

The Labour government won a nine-seat majority in 2013. Farrugia’s partner Godfrey Farrugia is the party’s whip.

Farrugia was the third MP to announce a resignation this year: Giovanna Debono resigned from the Nationalist group but retained her seat after her husband Anthony Debono was charged in court with misappropriation; and Joe Cassar resigned from the Nationalist group and as MP after being found to have received undeclared gifts from a donor when he was minister.

A former Nationalist candidate in the 1996 and 1998 elections, she was at the time married to Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. The couple separated and in September 2003, she announced she was exploring a candidature with the Labour Party. In 2008 she was elected MP, where she supported the leadership bid by George Abela after the resignation of Alfred Sant. In the run-up to the 2013 election, her partner Godfrey Farrugia was also fielded as a candidate, successfully.

She became a vocal critic of Joseph Muscat’s administration soon after stepping down from an assistant’s role to her partner, the then health minister Godfrey Farrugia, which found little favour in the media. When Godfrey Farrugia, today government whip, announced in 2014 he would resign as minister, Marlene Farrugia opened up about her partner’s ordeal as minister, saying that he was “repeatedly humiliated” by the Prime Minister.