Decriminalise abortion and prioritise mental health say ADPD

Mar 12 2022

Malta’s Green Party ADPD called for an emphasis on mental health as well as the decriminalisation of abortion in Malta.

ADPD candidate for the 1st and 10th districts as well as medical doctor Anthony Buttigieg called for mental health to be given new priority with an increase in investment for better service within the community.

Buttigieg highlighted how a mental health pandemic was unfolding throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing an exponential increase in mental health conditions. He also emphasised an urgent need for Mount Carmel to be replaced by a new hospital with modern facilities.

Carmel Cacopardo, ADPD chairperson, said that the party’s sexual and reproductive health proposals are two-fold. There must be decriminalisation of abortion, he said. No woman that undertakes the process should be treated as a criminal. They instead need support, he said.

However, Cacopardo said that empathy alone is not enough. It must be translated into specific action. ‘Removing from the criminal code the threat of criminal action by the state’ would be of help to all those women who face such difficulties.

‘It gets increasingly more urgent to place more emphasis on education relative to sexual and reproductive health at all levels of our educational system. This should lead to instilling a greater sense of responsibility in one and all’ he said.

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Some good was gained from Labour’s corruption says Debono Grech

Mar 12 2022

Speaking during a political rally, Labour Party veteran MP Joe Debono Grech stated that something was gained out of Labour’s corruption.

The remarks, which were made during a rally in Xewkija, were bizarrely met with applause by Labour supporters as well as Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri.

Debono Grech stated how someone told him both sides were corrupt. To this, Debono Grech replied by saying that the statement was true, but that at least Labour’s corruption yielded some good whereas the Nationalists’ corruption didn’t.

The ex-politician revealed that someone compared the parties to thieves. Debono Grech responded by saying that Christ was crucified with two thieves, one good and one bad. ‘We’re (Labour) with the good thief.’

Debono Grech served as a minister from 1983 to 1987 and again from 1996 to 1998. He was also the PL’s deputy leader for party affairs before getting elected to parliament.

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€1.2 million renovation for Ġnien Pjazza Federico Maempel

Mar 12 2022

Ħal Qormi’s Pjazza Federico Maempel will be renovated through an investment of €1.2 million by the Ministry for Economy and Industry.

Minister Silvio Schembri announced the investment, explaining how the zone will be given new life so that Qormi residents can enjoy the space along with their families. Spread over 3400 meter squared, the open space will include a library and a reading space dedicated to the headmaster and teacher Anthony Coleiro.

Sanitary facilities, baby changing rooms, bird habitats, new benches, renovated passageways, a yoga and meditation zone, a children’s playground and an area dedicated for local council use are all part of this new renovation.

The area will also be given a green lung of its own through the planting of trees and shrubs along with an irrigation system and security cameras. No trees already planted in the area will be removed, with the new designs made to work around the existing floral landscape.

Minister Schembri said that the residents of Qormi will be given a new central heart in their district. Here, they can relax and engage in recreational activities at their own comfort. He explained how more than €2 million will be invested from India Malta as part of projects of Corporate Social Responsibility, which will also take place in Mellieha, Hal Safi, Xewkija Ghawdex, Siggiewi, Dingli and, of course, Qormi.

President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca attended the official announcement event, saying that the garden reflects the dreams of the children who expressed the importance of inclusivity and green spaces. She added that Hal Qormi gave a lot to Malta’s economy, given that it is surrounded by 7 industrial zones. Through these gardens, the residents will be benefiting immensely.

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Uproar after Planning Authority approves Portelli Sannat mega-block

Mar 12 2022

The Planning Authority voted to approve an application to build a mega-block of apartment next to the Sannat cliffs, resulting in an uproar of critique among those objecting to the development.

PA/02087/21, an application by Mark Agius, was approved to build 73 flats and 60 garages in Sannat. This was met with disdain by activists however, who highlighted how the application is one of three in a cluster in Joseph Portelli’s plan to create 125 apartments along just 300 metres from the cliff’s edge.

Following the vote, shouts and chants of ‘you should be ashamed’ and ‘viva l-korruzjoni’ were projected at the board members. Critics have argued that slicing the development into three applications is an attempt by developers to bypass increased scrutiny that a larger project would undertake.

The two other applications have already been approved by the commission, despite being recommended for refusal by the PA’s case officer.

On his part, PN leader Bernard Grech questioned whether Robert Abela had anything to do with the permit for the Sannat development. Calling the approval of the permit an obscenity, he went on to ask whether the Prime Minister was in meetings which he influenced or was influenced by in recent days.

‘You are responsible for the environmental degradation of the country’ Grech said in his message. The Opposition leader said that although the PL pledged to invest into green lungs, it was acting in contradictory manners by approving such projects.

Grech said that another reason why Abela did not criticise the plans is due to the fact that h made thousands from direct orders in the PA and was happy receiving them. He then went on to explain how the PN’s trackless tram proposal among others would see to it that the environmental degradation does not continue whilst also keeping the economy sustainable.

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