Parliament to be convened on Saturday

Parliament will be convened this Saturday, marking the start of the 15th legislature since independence.

Prime Minister Robert Abela made the announcement on Sunday when he spoke during a One News interview.

He said the opening of parliament just three weeks after the general elections showed how the government was quickly getting down to business.

The first legislation, he said, would be laws to regulate NGOs, improve access to IVF and create a Commission to oversee the protection of human and civil rights. 

Times of Malta reported earlier this month that Carmelo Abela is expected to be appointed Speaker, taking over from Anglu Farrugia who was in the chair for three legislatures. 

Abela explained that the law to regulate voluntary organisations will simplify reporting obligations and ensure that NGO are given support tailored to their needs. 

“Dangerous narrative”

The prime minister said he was “shocked” by the “dangerous narrative” he saw being spread last week, referring to an interview with Nationalist MP Conrad Borg Manche.  The newly-elected MP argued that LGBTIQ people were already accepted by society and pride events showed “how unequal” the community was, rather than advancing equality.

Such shocking rhetoric, Abela said, risked reversing the progress the government has made over the past 13 years. 

“Rights and freedoms are not something to be taken for granted,” he said, pointing to regression in civil rights seen in other countries a result of the same dangerous narrative. 

He said the annual Pride celebrations and events will continue to be protected. 

Abela also went into detail of a reform in the changes to the law regulating IVF. He said he had met countless couples who wished to become parents but had to travel abroad for certain procedures. Therefore, the legal framework would be amended to make 16 more conditions eligible for PGT-M genetic testing in Malta.

Protection for farmers in Bulebel

During the interview, Abela also mentioned how, at the first cabinet meeting, the government decided that agricultural land earmarked for development at Bulebel industrial estate would be taken out of the development zone. 

The prime minister speaking on Sunday.

Many farmers have been working on that land for decades without any proper legal title or say on how the land was used, he said. They will not be able to apply for legal recognition for working on the land. 

“These farmers have worked there for years, improving our food security, yet with no guarantee that the land will be there for them,” he said. “Now we are giving them peace of mind and sending a strong message that the country’s agricultural sector is an important one and one to be protected.”

Abela also listed green projects currently in hand and said the waste processing facility in Marsascala, which for years had been a nuisance to residents, would be converted into a public park.