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MALTATODAY 11 October 2020

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8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 OCTOBER 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO IN a major victory for transpar- ency, the Planning Authority has reversed its decision to stop the publication of information on applications for major projects until the completion of an Envi- ronment Impact Assessment. It was MaltaToday which in May 2019 revealed that the Planning Authority took the unprecedented step to restrict public access to the details of planning applications which are not yet 'completed', purg- ing its information system from applications deemed to be incomplete and which had yet to be validated by the au- thority. Since then, responsibility for the PA has been transferred from the portfolio of infra- structure minister Ian Borg back to environment minister Aaron Farrugia, who over the past months has taken sever- al steps to restore the institu- tion's credibility. This included information on a number of major projects including the American Uni- versity of Malta's Zonqor uni- versity campus, a 20,000sq.m extension of the Noah's Ark zoo in Siggiewi, and a proposed road through the woodland near Fort Chambray in Gozo among many others. In the PA regime, an applica- tion is only considered 'com- plete' when the application form is fully filled and all doc- umentation required has been fully submitted. While the restriction of in- formation is understandable in cases where the PA had still to issue a screening letter which informs developers whether applications conform to exist- ing policies, an absurd situa- tion developed where the pub- lic was denied any information on major projects until they are validated upon completion of an Environment Impact As- sessment. In comments to MaltaToday, a spokesperson for the PA ac- knowledged the fact that ap- plications requiring screening before validation may also lead up to the requirement of an EIA, therefore meriting that documents are made available to the public during this "pre assessment stage". EIAs regulated by the Envi- ronment and Resoruces Au- thority also require a public consultation period during which these documents need to be available. All documentation is now being made available for those applications on which the PA has already issued an official screening letter. A screening letter offers an opportunity to developers to change or withdraw applica- tions in breach of policy. In this way, while developers will still benefit from confidenti- ality until the screening letter is issued, they will not benefit from any secrecy if they pro- ceed with their plans. Back in 2019, environmen- tal NGOS had described the restriction of information by the PA "an evident breach of the Aarhus Convention" which provides for public access to information. "The PA's lack of transparency smacks of its evi- dent contempt for those stake- holders who are not developers or applicants," lawyer Claire Bonello had said. The PA had cited 'legal rea- sons' to justify these chang- es, saying it was only when required documentation has been fully submitted and pay- ment affected, that the author- ity "is legally bound" to make public the application by pub- lishing them on the Depart- ment of Information website, the Government Gazette and by affixing a site notice on site. Planning Authority lifts secrecy on major projects JAMES DEBONO ARCHBISHOP Charles Scicluna has described the latest papal encyclical 'Fratelli Tutti', which outlines the Pope's political vision for a post COVID-19 world, as an appeal for a "new culture of fraternity, of openness to each other, of openness to migrants and the poor". In the wide-ranging encyclical letter released last week, the Roman pontiff denounced unbridled capitalism, the "magic" of trickle-down economics and populist leaders who appeal to people's "basest and most selfish inclinations". In an article penned for MaltaToday, Scicluna writes that the concept of a "fraternity without borders" is particularly relevant to Malta. "We also should be grateful for the Pope who puts his appeal for openness to the other in a context of solidarity between nations. If fraterni- ty should not have borders and should not be conditioned by borders, solidar- ity should also not be conditioned by borders or territorial jurisdiction." Scicluna also welcomed the Pope's emphasis on a new type of politics "im- bued by the constant quest and promo- tion of the common good". The Pope's political blueprint The encyclical outlines the pope's po- litical vision which according to Josh- ua J. McElwee, the National Catholic Reporter's Vatican correspondent, contains "the strongest criticisms ever made by a pope of the global market system and of populist and nationalist political movements." Francis denounces populist leaders who "are able to exploit politically a people's culture, under whatever ideological banner, for their own personal advantage or continuing grip on power." "They seek popularity by appealing to the basest and most selfish inclina- tions of certain sectors of the popula- tion," states the pontiff, adding: "This becomes all the more serious when, whether in cruder or more subtle forms, it leads to the usurpation of institutions and laws." The Pope also takes umbrage at neo- liberal ideologies that call for an unreg- ulated free market system. "The mar- ketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem, however much we are asked to believe this dogma of neoliberal faith... Whatever the challenge, this impover- ished and repetitive school of thought always offers the same recipes." The pope also denounced "the magic theories of spillover or trickle", adding that there is little appreciation of the fact that the alleged 'spillover' does not resolve the inequality that gives rise to "new forms of violence threatening the fabric of society." He also makes it clear that private rights are not absolute, and should be considered a secondary natural right, derived from "the principle of the uni- versal destination of created goods and thus the right of all to their use." 'All Brothers': the Papal encyclical denouncing neoliberalism and populism Archbishop Sciculuna welcomes Pope's appeal for solidarity between nations on migration and for a new kind of politics safeguarding the common good Charles Scicluna A guide to the encyclical MT2 Page 16

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