Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/187071
6 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2013 Family Park inauguration cost €45,000 THE inauguration of the €7 mila lion Family Park in Marsascala cost the country €45,000, a figure e which Environment Minister Leo o Brincat considered excessive, due e to WasteServ's financial woes. Further to the figure itself, the he minister found it curious how w both the invoice and the €45,000 00 cheque were issued by WasteServ, rv, practically on the eve of the March ch election. The Family Park was officially innaugurated by the then-Prime Minnister Lawrence Gonzi and thennRural Affairs Minister George ge Pullicino on 24 February, barely ely two weeks before the general elecction. WasteServ issued a cheque covvering the inauguration costs on 6 March, addressed to the thenMinistry for Resources and Rural Affairs (MRRA). covering the expenses". coverin Contacted by MaltaToday, Cont George Pullicino – today the OpGeorg position's spokesperson for energy positio and conservation of water – deco nied knowing anything the cheque kn issued. issued "I never involved myself in administrative issues… if the new minister has so much time on his hands that he stays looking at these things, I wish him well," Pullicino Flyers €11,500 said. Artwork & design for adverts €5,777 The former PN minister insisted that if the Photography, printing & adverts €600 inauguration was reGenerator & lights €14,000 lated to the Family Park, Gazebo & chairs €3,000 then it should have been Security €566 WasteServ to issue the payments. He however Ambulance & First Aid €920 couldn't explain why the Reception caterer €2,168 cheque had been issued Other unspecified costs €6,000 to MRRA and not to the service providers, citing Information provided by the Ministry for the Environment administrative matters. He added that MRRA could have been invoiced because it had taken care of the coordination. "What I know for sure is that, contrary to the impression given by Minister Brincat on television, the €45,000 was not spent on catering and parties but on activities spread throughout eight days," Pullicino said. The development, opening and management of the family park has been a bone of contention between Brincat and Pullicino, with Brincat insisting the project was rushed through and Pullicino rebutting the allegations. Brincat has on several occasions called for an explanation of why no health and safety certification and park management plan was carried out before the park was opened. On his part, Pullicino dubbed a temporary closure of the park "vindictive". had n o way o f MIRIAM DALLI How the €45,000 were spent According to Brincat, this raised A di t B i t thi i d questions as to why the money was dished out by the ailing national waste management agency and not by MRRA. b MRRA Brincat has gone on record saying WasteServ was forced to pay for the cost "after Pullicino Leo Brincat (right) accused George Pullicino (left) of excessive spending YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Labour distances itself from Rachel Tua's incendiary comments on asylum seekers JURGEN BALZAN THE Labour Party's Equal Opportunities Officer, Rachel Tua, yesterday reiterated her hawkish stance on migration by insisting, "I share the belief that our citizens should come first and foremost". Tua's comments over reports of an assault by two foreigners on a young Maltese man caused a stir, and the Labour councillor rebuffed the criticism by stressing that Malta cannot cope with the "invasion". "We are far too small a size [sic] to be in a position to entertain accommodation for illegal immigrants and furthermore if they have no respect for the citizens of Malta, who [sic] on earth should we respect them... Our people come first and foremost. Such acts are zero tolerance," [sic] Tua said. But yesterday, the Labour Party tactfully distanced itself from Tua's stance, with Labour President Daniel Micallef telling MaltaToday "Rachel Tua's comments do not reflect the position of the Labour Party". Yet, Micallef failed to answer questions regarding whether the party would be taking any disciplinary action against Tua and whether her position as equality officer was tenable. Equal Opportunities Officer Rachel Tua is also a Labour councillor for Mosta and director of a government authority On Friday, Tua launched into a Facebook tirade against migrants in her outrage over an incident which ended with a young Maltese man being hospitalised after being assaulted by two foreigners. The Labour candidate and Mosta local councillor's credentials as Labour's equal opportunities officer suffered a blow after she persistently described asylum seekers as "illegal immigrants" and said that Malta "ought to adopt the same course of action" as Australia – which practises pushbacks of migrants to other territories in the Pacific.