5,375 sign Ta' Qali gravel petition as Jason Micallef brands issue 'fake news'

Updated on Wednesday at 9.15am, update of signatures and Momentum's statement

A petition to remove controversial gravel laid in Ta’ Qali’s picnic area has attracted more than 5,375 signatures in its first five days, as Jason Micallef brands the issue "fake news".

Micallef repeated claims that the gravel had been laid on the ground to combat dust in the area, which he said was an annual problem, in line with methods used abroad.

The PN has also weighed in on the debate, describing the popular spot as having been “stripped of its greenery and left bare" and the gravel as a “careless and amateurish solution”, instead advocating the use of mulch.

The online petition lodged by youth-led organisation Vuċi Kollettiva calls on authorities “to restore this area to its original green state or implement a sustainable plan to reintroduce greenery”.

By Wednesday morning, the petition had attracted 5,375 signatures.

As one of the few open spaces in Malta, the Ta’ Qali picnic area is popular with families and dog owners. But in recent weeks, some have complained that the area, which has been undergoing renovation since April, looks lifeless since the gravel was added.

Vuċi Kollettiva said the gravel had made it “hard, unsafe, and uncomfortable for children, pets, and families who have long enjoyed this space” in a description attached to the online petition. 

“Green spaces are vital. They provide safe areas for play, foster community connections, support mental and physical well-being, and contribute to the environment and biodiversity”, it said.

Stressing that preserving the picnic area was “more than aesthetics and profits”, the group it was important to protect the space for the sake of future generations.

“Putting greed above the comfort of the people is nothing new in this country. We can’t forget how they tried to turn Manoel Island into concrete, but we got it back,” it said in reference to recently reversed plans to develop the popular Gżira location.

Calling on internet users to sign the petition, Vuċi Kollettiva said: Our children, pets, and community deserve it”.

The group has invited the public to attend a picnic-themed protest at the picnic area on Saturday.

On Friday, Jason Micallef, head of the Ta’ Qali National Park Unit at the  Public Works Ministry, had dismissed concerns about the site as “nonsense” and insisted the picnic area was never covered in grass in the height of summer.

Micallef explained that as part of the works being carried out on the area, a layer of imported coloured gravel commonly used in parks abroad had been laid down to prevent the parched soil from turning into dust.

'Short-sighted and incompetent decision'

In a statement Tuesday, the PN expressed its “serious concern” about the government's administration of Malta’s green spaces, arguing the Ta’ Qali site was “yet another example of short-sighted and incompetent decisions that diminish the quality of life".

The party said the site had been “stripped of its greenery and left bare, under the excuse of controlling dust during events”, and suggested “far better alternatives” such as mulch [dead plant material] from local trees.

“Instead, the government opted for a careless and amateurish solution”, the PN said.

Describing the situation at the picnic area as “not an isolated case”, the Opposition said that “year after year, the Labour government has systematically eroded Malta’s open spaces”.

“Public land intended for the community has been handed over for private developments. The few fields left between our towns and villages are being eaten away by road projects”, it said.

“Each time, the public is told that the environment is a priority – but in reality, the opposite is true,” the statement read.

“For Labour, the environment is nothing more than a tool for propaganda: glossy adverts, press conferences, and empty promises, while their decisions continue to destroy what little nature remains.”

The PN reiterated a proposal to enshrine the environment as a human right protected by the Constitution, saying the party wanted the public to “have a stronger voice over the environment around them, and not be forced to accept whatever comes their way”.

It said it would continue advocating for “transparency, proper upkeep, and evidence-based decisions that protect what little greenery remains”.

‘Fake news’

In a Facebook post Tuesday night, Micallef branded reports of the furore over the picnic area gravel “fake news from start to finish”.

The Labour firebrand said it was “a big lie that someone threw dirt and gravel in the picnic area... [and] that during the summer season between June and the end of September, the picnic area was covered with grass”.

While not referencing to whom he was referring, the issue caught public attention last week when actor Thomas Camilleri took to Facebook to criticise the handling of the area.

Camilleri posted contrasting photos of the park – one from January 2021 showing the area covered in grass, and another from this summer in which it appears comparatively barren – and said that from autumn to spring, the area was “a large, safe, green space”.

Seemingly in reference to the PN’s charge of the area being “stripped of its greenery”, Micallef said claims that grass had been removed from the site was also a “big lie”.

Micallef wrote that a “general improvement” had instead been made to the ground, noting dust created in the summer months due to the lack of vegetation was harmful to visitors’ health, especially those with respiratory problems.

“The same problems on people’s health used to arise during every summer during every mass activity”, he said.

He repeated claims the area had been covered in line with methods used abroad, and said the ground had been covered with a “material of fine sand and gravel” to prevent “enormous dust produced by the soil” in summer.

“This is a special material that is used on park lands and from which grass spontaneously emerges and grows up naturally after it rains in the autumn and winter. This is the same natural process that has happened every year since the picnic area in Ta’ Qali has existed.”

Micallef included two aerial photos of the area he said been taken in the summer, describing the appearance of the site in both instances as “like a desert of soil”.

“No fake news or big lie will tarnish the success of the greatest green regeneration that has ever taken place in Ta’ Qali, which everyone is enjoying”, he said.

Momentum endorses protest picnic at Ta'Qali

In a press release on Wednesday, Momentum endorsed the protest picnic, saying it was shameful that a vast stretch of land where vegetation grows naturally has been covered in gravel. 

"As Vuci Kollettiva have stressed, it is sheer folly to destroy an extensive green space in what is supposed to be the "green heart" of Malta, a country that is so lacking in greenery",  Natasha Azzopardi, Committee member of Momentum, said.