Now can we all stop pretending that Astrid Vella is apolitical?
She’s been a near-permanent fixture on Super One TV these past few years and her campaigning methods and targets have been – well, rather ‘pick and choose’, shall we say.
When asked about Labour’s plans to build a whacking great new power station, LNG marine terminal and two vast gas storage tanks all concentrated in very close proximity in a hard-pressed part of Malta, she said that she and her fatuous organisation are not equipped to talk about such important matters.
Really.
But last Monday I picked up a copy of L-Orizzont and Astrid’s face fell out of it, on the front page of a Malta Taghna Lkoll colour supplement produced by the Labour Party.
IS-SINJURA ASTRID VELLA mill-Ghaqda Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar qalet li hija sodisfatta li Gvern Gdid se jissepara l-oqsma tal-ippjanar u l-ambjent u sahqet fuq il-bzonn ta’ tibdil fl-istrutturi tal-ippjanar, inkluz l-ippjanar lokali.
Unbelievable.
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Of course because the Labour Party is all about legality.
With KZT and Astrid on board, no wonder we will be getting the government we deserve.
Frankly, dear Lestrade, I consider myself as deserving neither of the two – still less of the party they applaud
Well done for showing a photo of Astrid with the poster ‘legality now’.
There is no way that a new PL government can carry out all the studies and obtain all the necessary permits for the power station and gas tanks in less than six months without infringing both Maltese law and EU Directives.
Will Astrid protest with ‘legality now’ posters when (illegal) works commence at Delimara?
Of course not.
Nor will she protest when Joseph proceeds with dredging works outside Mgarr harbour.
The technicals to look up this week; cruise liners, their draft and the coastline outside Mgarr.
It will be hilarious listening to her nonsense when Joseph’s elected. Rent-a-lobby will become an integral part of Joseph’s ‘sustainable development’.
I’m really curious to know what James Tyrell has to say.
What is she holding?
Her moral status!
The contents of the Snobbys’ brassieres are a helluva lot more genuine than Ms. Vella.
Daphne, is that picture specially selected, or was the mike an oversight?
To mention but two who are not exactly PN-flag wavers, Martin Scicluna and Godwin Cassar raised a couple of eyebrows at Labour’s plan. The redoubtable Vella, on the other hand….
She said that the FAA did not have sufficient information to give an opinion. But then, remember the St John’s co-Cathedral issue? There she and her precious lackeys conducted a damning crusade to PREVENT the gathering of information (ie an EIA) on the subject, citing it, out of the magnificence of their intelligence, to be a non-starter. There, cos it suited them, they took a phrase from an email by a junior employee and spun it out of recognition.
Who knows what the PL promised Ms Vella?!
An endless stream of concerned residents affected by Joseph’s plans for urban centres.
Buhagiar will be the one to redraft, Musumeci chairing the ‘sustainable planning’.
Sustainable as in provide Chetcuti with the cash to fill his car for a drive down to Giorgio’s.
Policy will be their whim on a daily basis.
Money, what else. That’s all that matters to her and her ilk.
From the FAA’s statute,
Aims
3.2. In pursuing its aims, FAA shall not embark on or undertake any party political alliance or act in a partisan manner even though it has to be accepted that all forms of activism are in themselves ‘political’ by nature.
3.3.4. provide thought-leadership, research and expertise on all aspects impacting the environment and heritage in Malta both locally and within international organisations
Conduct of Officers
6.5. The officers of this organisation shall always conduct themselves individually and collectively with the utmost professionalism and shall abide by established norms of behaviour and ethics appropriate to the office held and the organisation they represent.
6.5.1. Pursuant to the above, officers of this organisation are subject to the scrutiny by the Executive Committee. The officer in question may be subject to a vote of confidence wherein if the person is found to be in default of some form of established conduct or ethical behaviour, there can be a motivated request followed by a collegial discussion between the Executive Committee and the person concerned.
6.5.2. Following this, a vote is taken and if a majority of the Executive Committee find that they no longer have confidence in the person concerned, this person shall be suspended from the Committee until the position of the person concerned can be further clarified and eventually ratified during the next General Committee.
6.5.3. Should the person concerned opt to resign, no further action is necessary other than the recording of the decision and the acceptance of the resignation.
Duties of the Coordinator.
7.2.4. Be responsible for developing and maintaining a database of suitably qualified professionals in the various disciplines which could be of interest to FAA and its work in respect of the protection of the Environment and Heritage of the Maltese Islands and in so doing build a consultative framework so as to ensure that FAA’s positions, responses, activities and operations are in line with the mission of the organisation.
Yeah right.
Astrid is in, and others should be out of FAA.
Kenneth Zammit Tabona and Astrid Vella? Are you sure? If so this strengthens my belief that too many people in Malta fail to see the wider view of Maltese politics.
God knows how many times I have criticised this government but I also know the net benefits its policies have brought to our country.
I will buck the new trend and vote PN …..again.
It’s not just Astrid(ent) Vella, of course: I’ve heard people express surprise that the Curia is also in favour of MEPA’s dismemberment.
What we tend to forget is that the Church in Malta is itself a developer of sorts: if it’s not the upgrading of a sanctuary-in-a-cave it’s a vast cemetery, if it’s not a school extension it’s a house for retreats, or a huge car park for pilgrimage coaches, or a kitsch collection of monumental Via Crucis statues on some scheduled hillside.
These are not generic examples I’m giving but actual projects I know about. In every single case, the Curia found the guys (and ladies) of the EPD in the way, respectfully but doggedly insisting that each grandiose project be scaled down to reduce its environmental impact and, every time, it was the Monsignor or the Rev. Fr. who had to comply (albeit not always fully) before the permit was issued.
Oh yes, I think the Curia would dearly love to kick the EPD out of the way.
Which authority is going to be the most powerful one? The planning or the environmental one?