PN on female representation: ‘We need more discussion on kids’

The Nationalist Party has argued that female representation will increase if Parliament holds more discussions on children, education and health.

In a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, PN whip David Agius and deputy leader Mario de Marco said that the PN agrees on the need for a greater number of women in Parliament and insisted that they were “ready to take part in discussions to take ideas [on encouraging women in politics] to practice”.

The letter, under the heading ‘Female Representation’, continued, “We believe that more people will be interested in becoming members of parliament … if we talk about kids, about poverty, education, health, youth, and the best ways to make the country better.”

The PN also proposed the appointment of a Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, which would be able to scrutinise MPs on their public actions.

A designated Prime Minister’s Question Time, agreed on by both parties, was also proposed “to facilitate democratic discussion”.

The party also called for Parliament’s ability to scrutinise choices for Police Commissioner, Head of Armed Forces and President, reiterating its stance that these should be elected after a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

A call for more funding was also put forward, with PN arguing that the financial increase would allow MPs to employ researchers on parliamentary topics.