Gozitan NGO Ghawdix has spoken out over the two new bills of law that have been presented in Parliament, Bill 143 and Bill 144, which it said “can drastically change, in a terribly bad way, how development decisions are made in Malta and Gozo,” describing this as the “Kafkaesque State of Malta.”
“Instead of fixing what is already largely broken,” Ghawdix said that the government has decided to “bulldoze even the little that still works. Rather than giving people a stronger voice over the environment, it has chosen to empower those already in control, gagging the public, and turning planning into a one-way conversation between developers and politicians.”
The NGO stated that “replete with loopholes, if these bills weren’t so destructive, they would almost be impressive.”
Ghawdix said that it has tried to explain the main outrageous points (if not all of them) as clearly and simply as possible for everyone to understand:
Developers will have more power and fewer rules.
1. Environmental concerns, aesthetic and sanitary considerations can be ignored in planning decisions, which will instead focus only on things like ‘architectural’ or ‘spatial’ and ‘contextual’ considerations-however these may be interpreted.
2. The PA already has a track record of ignoring its own policies and approving objectionable applications. We regularly witness planning policies being cited by objectors and then dismissed during hearings. These amendments would give legal cover to those same dismissals.
It will be much harder for the public to object.
1. To object to a development, you will now need to use precise legal and policy wording. As NGOs, we already do this in every submission. But most ordinary citizens simply won’t know how, nor should they be expected to.
2. This effectively means that if citizens want to object, they’ll need to hire a specialised lawyer or architect just to help them cite which policies are being broken.
3. Worse still: if you don’t object in exactly the right way, you lose your right to appeal later.
4. If the plans change midway, it will be difficult or even impossible to update your objection.
The Appeals system will be controlled and limited.
This is really out of this world. Under the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT):
1. Firstly, you have 10 fewer days now during which you can appeal. From an already tight 30-day time window during which appeals could be lodged, the period has been shortened to 20 days.
2. Your appeal can be dismissed if your original objection was not legally detailed enough.
3. You can be fined up to €5,000 if the Tribunal decides your appeal is ‘frivolous or vexatious’ – whatever that may mean.
4. The appeal process will be highly technical and difficult for ordinary citizens to navigate
5. Appellants can be forced to pay for tribunal-initiated inspections.
6. The Court’s already limited power over EPRT-decided cases has been limited further with fewer cases now qualifying to be taken to Court.
In short, a process that is already burdensome and expensive for ordinary citizens to correct the PA’s objectionable decisions will now be made nearly unreachable.
Ghawdix’s call to action.
The NGO warned that “our islands, already under enormous pressure from overdevelopment, will be thrown to the dogs by:”
1. Opening the door to more construction in protected or rural areas;
2. Reducing transparency, making it harder to know what’s happening in your community;
3. Weakening your right to have a say when harmful projects are proposed;
4. Putting developers’ interests ahead of the environment and residents.
Ghawdix concluded by calling on the government to “stop these Bills and hold real public consultation, especially considering that, despite repeated open letters, protests, and requests, NGOs were completely ignored.”
File photo Ghawdix: Gozo village skyline