Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1547002
This is my script for Robert Ab- ela as he steps onto the podium on Sunday to address the first Labour Party general conference after the general election Delegates and friends, Welcome to this conference. Thank you for being here. This year has been a momen- tous year for the Labour Party. We won an election; our fourth legislature. It was a first for Mal- ta and a first for the Labour Par- ty. We must be doing something right to win the trust of Maltese and Gozitans. (Pause and wait for applause) In all sectors we have managed to attain records. Our economy is driven by a service industry, unstoppable tourist industry and by construction. And we have exciting prospects of more in- vestment from abroad. Today, our families have more money to spend, more time to travel and more projects to plan. Malta, today, also continues to attract high end individuals who want to make Malta their home and their base for business. It is clear to everyone that hav- ing a Labour government is a guarantee for success. (Pause and wait for applause) We have also embarked on so- cial reforms that will make this country more just, more pro- gressive and more European. Courageous reforms that will allow our country to offer its cit- izens the best and only the best. We are part of a global system, so it is my duty to remind you of the conflicts that persist around us. The human tragedy in Gaza and the Occupied Territories in Palestine, the tensions in the Middle East, the Strait of Hor- muz and the war in Ukraine. These conflicts continue to im- pact the world in so many ways, including the price of fuel. We won an election with an electoral manifesto that prom- ises to give the people the best possible country to live in. But we do not live in a cocoon, and the world is changing around us. We must be ready to change too; to learn to adapt. Clyde Caruana has been talk- ing of the government's com- mitment to sustain and retain the subsidies on electricity and fuel. But we all know that these subsidies are now close to €400 million. We will keep our com- mitment, but we must strive to cut our waste and abuse. And it is my intention to ensure that measures are taken to introduce a capping when it comes to con- sumption and to penalise waste. We also believe that the con- sumption of subsidised fuel should be restricted to essential services and the purchase of fuel for non-essential services should be limited. We need to inculcate a sense of responsibility and from next week, all government agencies and departments will introduce a set of measures to mitigate the use of electricity and water. (Pause and hope for applause) When we look at people and what they think, we know that their major concerns are popula- tion growth, traffic and planning. We cannot go on believing that these are not problems. We must also understand that these problems do not have im- mediate solutions. On planning I would like to announce that with immediate effect, all new hotel applications will be frozen. With immediate effect all town cores where maisonettes comprise more than 70% of the townscape will not be consid- ered for apartment blocks or demolitions. A technical committee will be set up to propose a skyline policy for the Maltese islands, to safe- guard the historical and cultural identity of our towns and villag- es. We also need to review our pol- icies on tables and chairs, noise and fireworks. We need to re- member that our communities are being neglected, and side lined. On traffic, we are considering a comprehensive plan to encour- age logistics to distribute before or after the rush hours to avoid congestion. For schools to have alternative opening hours and for the creation of shuttle servic- es for key business areas to avoid grid lock. And for the construc- tion of three underground park- ing lots in three crucial nodes. We will also accelerate our plans on an alternative travel system to move away from our dependence on the private car. In this regard, I have asked Jon- athan Attard and Chris Bonett to leave no stone unturned to real- ise this project. This country needs to make radical changes. We complain that we cannot find Maltese for skilled jobs but we forget that we have failed to raise a generation of skilled Maltese artisans, and we have not tried hard enough to elevate the status of artisans in our society. They are the back- bone of every industry and econ- omy. Byron Camilleri has a top pri- ority to rekindle this. Not to replicate the trade schools sys- tem but to ensure that we cre- ate a generation of Maltese and Gozitan artisans. That will make us less depend- ent on foreign labour and third country nationals. We will never be fully inde- pendent of foreign nationals, but we must try everything in our power to encourage Maltese to take up these jobs. To do so, I have instructed a technical team to investigate an attractive tax structure for Mal- tese who take up these essential jobs. Malta needs new service in- dustries, but we have no foot- print or space for foreign direct investment. To release precious land caught up in litigation, we will introduce a bill that circum- vents the legal hurdles that have stopped us from taking back pre- cious public land. Social justice has always been a pillar for the Labour Party, but to achieve this we must ensure that what is due to the State is realised. Tax evasion must be stamped out and I have asked for a revisit of our tax evasion mech- anism. We must ensure that those who evade tax are identi- fied, and dues paid. The same applies to the mis- use or abuse of free services and medicines and products whether they are contributions or free- bies. Those who are not entitled to them should be removed as recipients. I cannot fail to mention justice and the rule of law. I thank Glenn Bedingfield for his sterling work. Thank you, Glenn. (Wait for applause) You, like me, were shocked by the verdict in the Yorgen Fenech case. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a staunch critic of the Labour Par- ty, but no one had a right to take away her life. And I together with the rest of Malta pray for justice. We must also be humble and ac- cept responsibility for our faults. For this we apologise. But the judicial proceedings were independent, and the outcome re- veals a shortcoming in our system. To this end I will be setting up a technical commission to inves- tigate reforming the prosecution office and to make suggestions re- garding the jury system. They will have five months to report and when they do, we will implement what is needed to en- sure justice. Justice is not a privilege; it is a must for a democratic and free country. It is Labour who implements re- forms. (Look around and pause and wait for applause). I am not happy with the way things have evolved but at this point I must be careful on what I say. But I must state that justice must be served and that true jus- tice never looks at the colour of your beliefs. As the leader of the party, I also know that I need to dedicate more time to the party. To encourage more young people to join our ranks, for more creative thinking in our ranks. We also need to change our idea of doing politics. Today, I wrote to PN leader Alex Borg, proposing that we start dis- cussing steps to dissolve our party stations and to create a state TV structure that will offer a set up with different editorial slants simi- lar to Rai 1, Rai 2 and Rai 3. I am taking the first step, now the ball is in Dr Borg's court. This is the first year of our fourth legislature. This is the time to dream and the time to start mak- ing changes. You can be part of the change. My dream is your dream. But for this to happen we must be willing to change. Thank you. 7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2026 OPINION My imaginary script for Robert Saviour Balzan Founder and owner of Media Today, publisher of MaltaToday, he is a TV host and pollster Prime Minister Robert Abela