Government plans for MEP elections, PN thinks of future generations, Jason Azzopardi says
PN MP Jason Azzopardi accuses the government of lacking a vision for sustainable development.
Jason Azzopardi has said the government doesn’t have a long-term view for the future of Malta, criticising it for not having development goals which were sustainable.
The Nationalist Party MP, during the second reading of the sustainable development act, said that while the PN planned for children’s future, the government’s eyes were only set on the upcoming MEP elections.
Greed has reached such high levels that it appears to be limitless, Azzopardi said, with many people no feeling that it is impossible to break free from the built up environment all over the island, which ends up having a negative impact on people’s quality of life.
He said that the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had become malleable after - a condition which has afflicted many public authorities.
The Superintendence has became less vocal and spineless, Azzopardi said.
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“When we discuss this subject of sustainable development, let’s have a long-term view. It’s not a good thing that we’re not going to leave our children a better country,” he emphasised.
"Does the government not think it has a moral obligation to think of future generations?" the MP asked.
PN makes it seem like all was rosy before 2013 - Alex Muscat
Responding to Azzopardi, PL MP and chairperson of Parliament’s Environment and Planning Committee Alex Muscat said the Nationalist Party would like to make it seem like everything was going well in terms of development before 2013,
“If you hear Azzopardi speaking, you’d think that till 2013 everything was peachy with the environment, but now everything has been ruined, almost as if the PL government was elected with the purpose of destroying the environment,” he quipped.
“We’ve also been criticised for not having a vision on sustainable development goals. But we actually have a plan for a national strategy going all the way up to 2050,” he emphasised.
He said previous PN governments had no plan on how to generate energy from waste, but a Labour government had started planning this. “When the opposition was asked to participate in the forum on this issue, they declined. They abdicated from this responsibility.”
The government had also introduced a high-rise policy, “love it or hate it”, he said.
“It is those who don’t even want to participate in our plan who don’t actually have a strategy,” he remarked.
He also refuted assertions by Azzopardi that “dozens” of fuel station permits had been granted. “Since 2013, four permits were issued. We’ve refused far more than we’ve accepted.”
“In this era of fake news, it seems many people are influenced to believe things without facts. We are obliged to give the facts when we speak in Parliament,” he added.