Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1368118
WEDNESDAY • 5 MAY 2021 NEWS 7 NEWS CONTACT Adriana Farrugia or Erika Arrigo on 21382741 for sponsorship opportunities SCAN THIS CODE USING A QR SCANNER APP TO WATCH THE LATEST EPISODE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S major environmental NGOs have come out in support of a private members' bill tabled by the Opposition to reform part of the legal framework governing the Environment and Resources Authority. The Ramblers' Association of Malta, Friends of the Earth Malta, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ah- jar, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta and The Archaeological Society Malta reiterated their stance on the need for greater transparency in the way ERA operates. "The NGOs agree that all documentation relat- ed to particular decisions, including the ERA's minutes should be made public and that hearings should take place in a public manner," said Ram- blers president Ingram Bondin. "In order to be effective, this would require the adoption of a system similar to the one used by the Planning Authority. This includes the affixion of public notices related to upcoming decisions, the publishing of documentation on an online portal and the publication of decisions in the Government Gazette for appeal purposes." Bondin said the NGOs also strongly agree that environmental organisations should be granted an automatic judicial interest in appeals from the ERA decisions in front of the Environment and Planning Revision Tribunal. "This would end the outdated practice of refusing to hear appeals from NGOs, when these are in fact representing a public inter- est. The NGOs stress that this would do away with an obsolete practice which has already been sup- pressed in higher legal fora." "We urge the government to give serious con- sideration to the bill in order to improve the legal framework and operation of the environmental regulator." Environmental NGOs support Nationalist Bill on ERA reform