Ġustizzja Għal Artna campaign has ‘no visibility’ on government’s claimed rollback on planning bills

The Ġustizzja Għal Artna campaign, which organised two of the largest environmental protests in the country last month, has categorically denied a Sunday Times of Malta front page story which suggested that campaign representatives and the government were close to “a breakthrough” on watering down the government’s contentious planning Bills.

“The campaign wishes to clarify that, at the moment, it has no visibility into the changes which the government will make to the planning reform, since no draft has been circulated,” a statement from the group said.

“The campaign was thus not in a position to review any changes, and has not committed to any changes. The fact that talks have been held with the government does not mean that any agreement has been reached,” the group said, insisting that the campaign’s demand that both planning Bills be withdrawn remains firmly in place.

The story published by The Sunday Times of Malta was primarily based on comments from unnamed government sources and Wayne Flask, the secretary-general of an NGO which does not form part of the Ġustizzja Għal Artna campaign. The campaign confirmed that nobody asked them for a comment prior to publication.

After a request for clarification was sent directly to the campaign, Ramblers’ Association president and one of Ġustizzja Għal Artna’s leading figures, Ingram Bondin, further explained what exactly seems to have been lost in translation.

Bondin pushed back against any assertions that there are splits within the campaign, noting that il-Kollettiv does not form part of the NGOs that comprise the coalition.

“There were three meetings with the government in total. We told them what worries us the most about these Bills, but we do not know what the government is going to do. There are no concrete proposals on the table from the government’s end. We don’t know what exactly is going to change. We do not have any drafts in hand,” Bondin told The Shift. 

This stands in stark contrast with the impression given by The Sunday Times’ piece, in which sources claimed that ongoing negotiations have led to clarifications, amendments, and even the deletion of some clauses.

Bondin stated that, while he believes there is “widespread agreement” between environmental stakeholders about the campaign’s goals, groups like il-Kollettiv are free to work independently of the coalition.

“We agree on a lot of things, but il-Kollettiv has a slightly different strategy… for now, we continue to insist that these Bills are to be withdrawn unless we see a final version of this Bill, because we do not know what other extra amendments they may add,” Bondin said, emphasising that the Bills would have to be substantially revised for the campaign to ever consider accepting them.

The government has been under increasing pressure to withdraw the contentious Bills entirely, with a four-day camping protest staged in front of Parliament just last week and a massive rally held at the beginning of October.

The organisations that signed off on this morning’s press statement are Ramblers’ Association of Malta, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Moviment Graffitti, BirdLife Malta, Nature Trust Malta, Għawdix, Wirt Għawdex, and Front Żgħażagħ Għall-Ambjent.