The Nationalist Party is calling for greater transparency within the Environment and Resources Authority and will be taking the issue to parliament to make the authority’s board meetings accessible to the public.

In a press conference of Monday afternoon, Opposition spokesperson for the environment Robert Cutajar said that following consultation with eNGOs who lament that their concerns are not being taken seriously within the authority, the PN would be presenting a private member's bill to amend the law that regulates ERA. 

The PN will be proposing that ERA board meetings be made accessible to the public, with the agenda of each meeting being publicly communicated beforehand, as well as an account being kept of the voting record of every member of the board, Cutajar said. 

Additionally, the bill will be proposing that NGOs and third parties be given the opportunity to make their submissions to the ERA board.

“There is a growing sense that when it comes to the environment authorities are not fulfilling their duties, there is an 'anything goes’ attitude which emboldens some to act above the law. We hear of instances where work begins on a project where permits are not even in place and this to us is unacceptable,” Cutajar said. 

Last week nine eNGOs wrote to Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia calling for ERA chair Victor Axiak’s resignation, citing a series of ERA decisions that they said ran counter to its mandate of protecting Malta’s environment, and accused Axiak of aligning himself with the interests of "developers and roadbuilders." 

“Prof. Axiak has, repeatedly and unashamedly during the last few years, acted and voted against the environmental wellbeing of this country,” the NGOs wrote in the blistering letter.

Axiak has strongly denied the accusations, but said the minister had a responsibility to remove him if he felt he was unfit for the job. 

The minister has affirmed his confidence in Axiak, saying that as a chairperson he has “always carried out his duties diligently".

Asked whether the PN was joining the call for Axiak’s resignation, Cutajar was non-committal and reiterated that in consultations with eNGOS there was broad agreement that increased transparency in required from the management of ERA.