By Juliana Zammit
Copyright maltatoday
A group of NGOs has announced a national protest against the government’s proposed planning reform, warning that it would cause “a total assault on our environment and quality of life.”
“If this legal package is approved, Malta and Gozo will be ruled entirely by the wishes of developers, while the common people will be left under siege from harmful development permitted without even today’s minimal regulatory controls and scrutiny,” the NGOs said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
The protest, entitled Ġustizzja għal Artna: Irtirawhom Issa!, will be held on Saturday 4 October at 10:00am. People will gather in front of court before marching to Castille, where speeches will take place.
The NGOs said the government is intent on forcing through two planning bills and three legal notices that will dismantle existing safeguards, restrict public appeals, and regularise illegalities across the country.
They added that no genuine consultation can take place on legislation already drafted and tabled in parliament, describing it as “structurally rotten” and written to serve developers’ demands.
The groups also accused the government of launching a disinformation drive to promote the legal package, using adverts on television and social media. They called on people to respond by spreading the truth and mobilising through grassroots action.
Last week, several environmental NGOs launched the campaign Ġustizzja għal Artna, describing the Government’s planning proposals as an unprecedented assault on Malta’s environment, quality of life, and democracy.
The campaign comes as government plans to introduce two planning bills that environmentalists have strongly opposed. Bill 143 would hand powers to the Planning Authority, effectively undermining local plans and paving the way for development across the country.
Bill 144, presented as a reform of the appeals process, would make it harder for citizens to challenge decisions, creating new obstacles and taking away the Court’s ability to revoke permits.
Organisations backing the campaign include BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Front Żgħażagħ għall-Ambjent, Għawdix, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust – FEE Malta, Ramblers Association, and Wirt Għawdex.
More information about the campaign and its demands is available here.
