Standards commissioner blasts Robert Abela's refusal to publish cabinet assets

Updated 6.57pm

The Standards Commissioner blasted Robert Abela's refusal to submit his cabinet’s asset declarations, calling the move a "setback for transparency in public life" that sent a "very negative message".

In a statement on Thursday, chief justice emeritus Joseph Azzopardi told the media that he had written to the prime minister about his ministers' declarations of assets for 2024. 

This letter, sent on Tuesday, followed a request by the commissioner to obtain copies of the declarations, since the longstanding practice of publishing ministerial asset declarations had ceased.

Responding to the commissioner's statement, the Office of the Prime Minister insisted all members of the cabinet have declared their assets to the Speaker, adding these declarations are publicly accessible.

It continued that changes will be made to the asset declaration system as well as the Code of Ethics to address concerns about parliamentarians' obligation to honesty. 

"The observations of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life will be addressed by the changes to the asset declaration system which will be presented by the Government. The changes will consist in a single declaration which shall apply to all members of Parliament without the existing distinctions," OPM said in a statement.

"The Government is also planning to make changes to the Code of Ethics of Members of Parliament, particularly in light of the recent stand adopted by the Commissioner for Standards that members of parliament are not obliged to be honest and stick to the truth."

In December 2025, the Cabinet Secretary had informed the commissioner that cabinet had decided there should be a single declaration form for all members of parliament, including ministers, and that ministers had declared their assets to the Speaker earlier that year.

The commissioner understood the secretary’s reply to mean that ministers did not declare their assets for 2024 in the usual manner.

They only did so using the declaration form for MPs, which is less detailed, Azzopardi added.

The commissioner said this meant that in the future, ministers would continue to use this form only, and the ministerial declaration form had been eliminated.

The commissioner then wrote to Abela on Tuesday to express his concern that ministers would no longer declare their income, financial investments and bank accounts held by their spouses.

Such information used to be required by the ministerial declaration form, but not the form for MPs.

"This was a setback for transparency in public life, and it sent a very negative message," the commissioner said. He also referred to an additional setback for transparency: asset declarations by MPs are not published, so declarations by ministers would no longer be accessible to the public. 

Azzopardi added that ministers were obliged by their code of ethics to make an annual statement of their assets to the Cabinet Secretary on the relevant form.

"The elimination of this form meant that all ministers were in breach of their ethical obligations, even if no action could be taken against this breach since the Commissioner did not have the power to investigate Cabinet decisions," the commissioner noted.

Azzopardi, meanwhile, referred to the cabinet secretary's announcement that the government planned on strengthening the code of ethics for MPs in light of recommendations made by the first standards commissioner in 2020, and a decision by the current commissioner about an MP who had made an untrue statement. He said that the code of ethics for ministers also needed strengthening.

"It is particularly important for ministers to be regulated by a solid ethical framework, given their powers and the resources they control," he said. 

A blow to transparency

The Nationalist Party slammed the prime minister’s decision to abolish the long-standing practice for ministers to publish declarations of their assets, calling it “unacceptable”.

The Opposition aligned itself with the standards commissioner appealing to the prime minister and government minister to subject themselves to public scrutiny.

“What Robert Abela and the government are doing is not acceptable in a democracy that demands the highest level of transparency from those in positions of leadership,” the Opposition said.

“Our country cannot withstand any further blows to transparency and governance,” it added.

The Labour Party hit back at the PN's accusations insisting that the government is "determined to reform the system so that there is no distinction in the reporting obligations that exist for different members of parliament". 

'Serious consequences'

Momentum warned that changing the ministers' declaration of assets to match that of MPs "has serious consequences" leading to a "deliberate reduction in transparency". 

"This decision is not a technical reform," Momentum leader Arnold Cassola said.

"It has serious consequences. Under the MPs’ declaration system, ministers no longer declare their income, financial investments, or bank accounts held by their spouses and partners. These were previously mandatory disclosures for ministers. The result is a deliberate reduction in transparency at the very top of government.”

The party insisted that "those entrusted with the highest office must set the highest standards". 

It added that reforms should "strengthen standards, not weaken them". 

"Any genuine reform of the asset declaration system must increase transparency, require full disclosure of ministers’ and their partners’ assets, and guarantee automatic public access. Anything less is a retreat from democratic accountability."

Momentum had previously proposed a Public Integrity Act, remarking that the current honour system is "laughable".

The party's proposal mandates that the National Audit Office professionally audit every elected official’s asset statement within 90 days of taking office and every year thereafter. This Act would empower the Auditor General to access bank statements, property records, and tax data for verification. Any official who lies or hides assets would face criminal prosecution.