Australia Hall – people missing the point, as usual
Yesterday, The Sunday Times ran a story about how the government has “intervened to reopen negotiations” between the Labour Party, which has possession of Australia Hall in Pembroke (but not the full title, as it pays rent to the government and private companies which planned in the 1990s to take over the lease for Eur1.5 million. Over the last 20 years, the market value would have gone up by several million.
Beneath the report, readers are commenting about how this is a good move because it means that Australia Hall will get ‘restored’ and get some use instead of lying there being vandalised.
They miss two points.
1. It is the Labour Party which has allowed Australia Hall to fall into disrepair and be vandalised, and this – besides being extremely irresponsible – puts it in breach of its contract with the government, which is why the previous government sued to retake possession. This government has now dropped the case.
2. The Labour government has dropped the case against the Labour Party, which would have meant retaking Australia Hall for its rightful owner, the state (and its citizens), so that the Labour Party can make money – out of state property – by leasing it on to private companies for business purposes. This is called corruption.
The leader of the Labour Party, who is now prime minister and in a position to give instructions to drop the government’s case to retake Australia Hall from that party, has done so to enable his party to negotiate it for millions that will go into the party’s war-chest. Of course, somebody may also take a cut, though we will never find out.
I’ll put this simply, in terms that even a Labour voter might be able to understand: faced with a stark choice between the directly conflicting interests of his political party and the interests of the state which he is now governing, the prime minister has chosen the interests of his party over those of his country.
Worse, he has abused of his power to put money into his party’s coffers. Worse still, he has involved his government in negotiations with businessmen over the transfer of Australia Hall by the Labour Party – which is distinct from the government – to those businessmen.
In a properly civilised country, this would be a major scandal and not a side issue. But do you know, people in Malta are so inherently corrupt that they do not even begin to understand what normal, democratic behaviour is. And yes, that included the educated 50-somethings on Facebook, whose limited intelligence and ‘too clever by half’ comments (the result of a combination of genetic stupidity and a reluctance to apprise oneself of the facts) are enough to make one rip one’s hair out.
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131117/local/government-intervenes.495027#.UooxuicueV4
If anyone thinks restoration is envisaged, they’re ridiculous.
It’s plausible to say that Labour let Australia Hall fall into ruin to get rid of any listing. I believe it was a Grade 2 building before the ceiling came down. Oldest trick in the book.
Tony Abela gets his supermarket in the end.
The reins of power in Malta are in the hands of `pimps, thieves and scoundrels` gorging themselves on the spoils of war
In September 1996, before Labour got into government, Australia Hall had been scheduled as a Grade I listed building but was downgraded to Grade II in April 1997, when Labour was in government.
Labour had signed two promise-of-sale agreements for the property in 1995 and 1997 with Tamarac Ltd – a company owned by the Fino Group and Chris Gauci of Big Ben – for the sum of €1.5 million.
In December 1998, the building was engulfed by flames, amid suspicions of an arson attack. The blaze destroyed the corrugated roof and stage area, but the masonry remained practically intact.
Do you mean there’s a difference between the Labour Party and the Labour government? U ejja, mhux xorta.
Those that will understand don’t need to be told and those that need to be told won’t understand anyway.
You are right about what any normal democracy would call corruption. It’s built into the fabric here, almost institutionalised. No matter who is in government, although this lot in power now are more blatant about it.
Why aren’t the Opposition raising a stink?
[Daphne – They are.]
The reason why the government had to get involved is that the Labour Party has no employees left as they have all been employed by the government.
Many of those who write under The Times’s stories never get the point. That newspaper is crowded with illiterate elves and low-IQ PL apologists.
What made the news for them were the 500 euros ‘zieda’ and the Arlogg tal-Ministru.
Ten million euros in state property given as a golden handshake by the Labour PM to the Labour leader (one and the same person) is not a story worthy of the front page of that newspaper. No wonder the elves love to leave comments there.
This is part of a larger plan. Along with the party financing law they intend pushing through they will put the PN at a disadvantage not having a steady source of income.
The relevance and the standing of The Times has deteriorated seriously since it has introduced the comments board. Seems that its articles are prepared for the consumption by those who will comment on them.