Repubblika reiterates the principle that civil society has a central role in shaping the laws and policies that govern us. We believe that open, transparent, and inclusive consultation is essential for democracy. However, once again, the government has chosen to act in the opposite way: by pushing legal changes with very serious consequences for the environment without effective dialogue with those most affected.
We express serious concern that, as has often happened in the past, planning policy is being shaped to serve the private interests of those who secretly support the governing party financially and politically. When laws are written this way, they do not serve the common good, they erode public trust in institutions, and they undermine the foundations of our democracy.
These draft planning laws not only threaten democratic integrity but also endanger our collective future. The built and natural environment is being damaged and destroyed at an alarming rate. Landscapes, historical heritage, and biodiversity are being lost and cannot be recovered. Entire communities are being left with a worse quality of life, while Malta is increasingly becoming a place where it is difficult to live. The long-term consequences of this destruction will be paid by our children and grandchildren, and the damage will be irreversible.
For these reasons, Repubblika supports the appeal made by environmental organizations to the government: withdraw these drafts immediately.
We insist that any reform of the planning system must follow a genuine and effective consultation process. This process must be transparent, widely participatory, and aimed at protecting the environment from abuse, not facilitating it.
The drafting of laws must be open, with the full participation of civil society, where the public interest, not the profit of a few, is the guiding principle. We therefore call on all Maltese people of goodwill to stay alert and ready to follow the instructions of environmental organizations when the public is called upon to raise its voice. Peaceful democratic protest and legal resistance are not just rights, they are responsibilities when democracy and the environment are under threat.
We express solidarity with those working to protect Malta from policies that serve the few and are short-sighted. Now is the time for action. Together we can, and must, defend a country people can live in, its natural and historical heritage, and our shared democratic values.