Watch: Grim Reaper protest greets MPs over controversial planning bills

Demonstrators dressed as the Grim Reaper and mourners carrying coffins gathered outside parliament on Monday afternoon to protest against the government's controversial proposed planning reforms.

The protest, organised by the Ġustizzja għall-Artna campaign, greeted MPs as they returned from the summer recess.

To the sound of a slow, ominous drumbeat, MPs walked past the group of about 50 protesters, some ignoring them as they entered, while others chose to use an alternative entrance to avoid the protest altogether. 

The protesters held signs such as " the developers' dictatorship" and "greed".

The campaign group said the reaper costumes symbolised “the forces driving these laws: greed and the developers’ dictatorship”, while the coffins were a stark representation of what they called “the death of our quality of life, environment, decency, democracy, and social justice”.

“This so-called reform has one aim: to crush the common person and transfer all power to developers and politically-controlled authorities,” the group said in a statement.

“It will open the floodgates to destructive development in ODZs, UCAs, and other areas of social, historical, and cultural importance. No corner of the country will be safe from greed.”

Just before parliament broke for the summer break, the government proposed major changes to the planning system through two bills, 143 and 144 and a legal notice.

One bill proposes an overhaul of the appeals process for development applications, while the second grants new powers to the Planning Authority (PA) and the planning minister. The legal notice would allow certain illegal developments in Outside Development Zones (ODZs) to be sanctioned.

Protesters warned that these reforms would strip citizens of their remaining rights to challenge controversial permits.

“Citizens will lose the few tools they have to contest illegal decisions. Appeals will become harder, and even the courts will lose the authority to strike down illegal permits,” the group said.

They also slammed the consultation process as “meaningless”, pointing out it was launched after the reforms were tabled in parliament and only in response to “public outrage”.

The protesters denounced the new planning laws as an example in greed. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

More than 1,500 responses were submitted during the four-week consultation period. 

“The laws are structurally rotten and cannot be fixed,” the group said. “While the consultation was supposedly underway, government embarked on a propaganda campaign to promote the laws. This is clear proof that the government’s intention is to bulldoze these laws through and dismantle all planning safeguards.”

The reforms have drawn widespread criticism. In an interview on Times Talk last month, Planning Minister Clint Camilleri pledged to roll back some key proposals.

He said he would withdraw a clause in Bill 143 that would have allowed the PA to override planning policies, calling it the most contentious provision. He also promised to reconsider shortening the appeals window from 30 to 20 days.

A national protest against the proposed reforms is planned for Saturday, October 4 at 10am, starting from the Law Courts in Valletta and marching to Castille.