Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1034189
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 NEWS 24 HOUR SERVICE AIRPORT DIRECT jccabservice72@gmail.com JAMES DEBONO THERE were only two other oc- casions where all Planning Au- thority Board members were present for a meeting in 2018, apart from the last week's con- troversial decision to approve the 38-storey City Centre pro- ject in St George's Bay. These included the vote on the Fortina high-rise project which was approved by 11 votes against three, and the Maghtab petrol station which was ap- proved by 10 votes against four. Curiously just weeks before the vote on the Maghtab petrol station the majority of Board members had indicated their intention to vote against the petrol station, located outside development zones. The City Centre vote last week provoked outrage after it was revealed that the PA had flown in a government-appointed member of the Board on a €8,750 flight by private jet from her holiday in Sicily. The mem- ber voted in favour of the pro- ject. A MaltaToday analysis of pub- licly available data on final votes shows that votes during Board members were absent included the controversial decision on ODZ petrol stations and large- scale developments like the Villa Rosa development, where four members were absent, and the Metropolis tower, where only one Board member was absent. The PA has justified its deci- sion to fly in Jacqueline Gili from Sicily by describing the City Centre towers permit as a "high-profile" case which mer- ited "the same magnitude and importance as that of other high-rise projects". The analysis reveals that one particular Board member, De- siree Cassar has been absent on 32 separate votes, which trans- lates to 74% of all votes taken. Cassar was already absent on 50 occasions in the preceding year. Cassar, a tax lawyer by profes- sion, serves as an 'independent member' on the PA Board ap- pointed by the government for her expertise in economic mat- ters. She is also a member of the Accountancy Board . Jacqueline Gili, the public officer in the Department of Contracts flown in at the PA's expense to attend the City Cen- tre vote, was absent in 13 other votes. Opposition MP Marthese Por- telli was the only Board mem- ber that did not miss a single vote. Her predecessor, Ryan Callus, had missed five votes in the first two months of the year. Labour MP Clayton Bartolo was absent for 16 votes. NGO representative Annick Bonello, Chairman Vince Cas- sar, ERA chairman Victor Axiak and 'independent' member Jo- seph Brincat also attended most of the decision meetings. The analysis does not register the attendance of Board mem- bers where no decision was taken or meetings for which minutes were not available on the website. Absences a regular occurrence on PA board Absent Absence as percentage of all meetings Desiree Cassar 32 74% Ivan Tabone 17 40% Clayton Bartolo 16 37% Timothy Gambin 16 37% Jacqueline Gili 13 30% Simone Mousu 11 26% Matthew Pace 7 16% Elisabeth Ellul 7 16% Victor Axiaq 5 12% Vince Cassar 5 12% Joseph Brincat 4 9 % Annick Bonello 3 7% Marthese Portelli 0 PA board attendances in 2018 43 votes 'minuted' on the PA website between 1 January and 20 September 2018 DAVID HUDSON THE House Business Committee will be meeting tomorrow Monday 1 October at 11am to initiate parlia- ment proceedings after the summer hiatus. Eleven new bills are on parliament's agenda, among these is a proposal for the law governing NGOs and several proposals for the amend- ment of authorities and financial services of Malta. Labour Whip Byron Camilleri told MaltaToday the new post of the Commissioner for Standards, taken up by former PN parliamentary sec- retary George Hyzler, will also be discussed. Two bills regulating education will be brought forward and a bill on sus- tainable development will be the last item on the agenda. Another item on the agenda is a bill to amend current weapons laws. PN Whip Robert Cutajar told Mal- taToday that parliament will start meeting early on Tuesdays at 4pm instead of 6pm. He also said that time allocated for the Opposition will start on Decem- ber 1. He did not exclude the pos- sibility of the Opposition bringing motions to the table. The 2019 Budget will be presented on 22 October. Parliament resumes, 11 Bills up for debate