Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/449474
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 21 JANUARY 2015 7 News Small number of MPs wary of politicising hunting referendum MIRIAM DALLI A small number of members of par- liament opted not to take part in a MaltaToday vox-pop on the spring hunting abrogative referendum, ar- guing that they were in favour of calls for the issue not to be politicised. On Monday evening outside par- liament, MaltaToday asked 39 MPs how would they be voting on 11 April when the Maltese electorate will be deciding whether or not to have regulations which allow Malta to derogate from the EU Birds Direc- tive cancelled from the statute book. But only nine of those questioned chose not to give an answer, arguing that they wanted to respect the cam- paigners' call for political parties not to politicise the issue. Two of these were Environment Minister Leo Brincat and Finance Minister Edward Scicluna. The six others were all Nationalist MPs, including the PN's spokesman on hunting Charlo Bonnici. Brincat said that while he was aware of the government's elec- toral pledge in its manifesto and the Prime Minister's consistency on the matter, one should keep in mind that the issue has now been passed onto the electorate. "Just like the Prime Minister him- self stated, the political parties and the government need to make room for other voices to be heard in the debate. As a member of the Cabinet I feel that I should respect the civil society's wish by refraining from commenting publicly on the matter," Brincat said. The environment minister added that the government would be re- specting the outcome of the refer- endum, and therefore the civil so- ciety should be allowed to make its choices freely. The same sentiment was expressed by Nationalist MP Francis Zammit Dimech, who said that the public should be able to decide on its own without being influenced by the po- litical parties. Shadow environment minister Marthese Portelli took the same po- sition, saying that both hunters and environmentalists had expressed their satisfaction over the parties' decision not to turn spring hunting into a political football. "We should respect this choice," she said. Finance Minister Edward Scicluna also opted not to voice his opinion on the matter explaining that, once the referendum was called by the people, the electorate should be able to formulate its own opinion. "It is time for the politicians to take a step back. We always accuse politicians of wanting to inter- fere. This time we must take a step back. I have my own opinion but we should allow the people to debate as they should and make an informed decision," Scicluna said. Recently appointed spokesman for hunting, Nationalist MP Charlo Bonnici said his new role within the party made it impossible for him to express his personal opinion on the matter. "As a spokesman for the Opposi- tion on the matter, I cannot com- ment as an MP but as a spokesper- son, and therefore I cannot speak about the PN's position. We will allow the public to listen to the two camps, who will explain why the electorate should vote 'yes' or 'no' in the referendum," Bonnici said. He added that the two major po- litical parties have agreed that this matter should not be politicised, allowing the voters to make their choices freely. Gozitan MP Frederick Azozpardi (PN) said that it is up to the people to decide while PN spokesman for arts Joe Cassar suggested that the media should not wait outside par- liament for the MPs now that it was agreed that the referendum should not be politicised. Former rural affairs minister George Pulliciono said he will de- cide on his vote while in the voting booth, while PN MP Robert Cutajar said it would be irresponsible if MPs were to influence the public follow- ing the agreement reached. Contrary to deputy leader for party affairs Beppe Fenech Adami – who declared a 'Yes' vote – the Opposition's deputy leader for par- liamentary affairs Mario de Marco preferred not to voice his inten- tions. "While I do have a stand on the subject, I don't think it would be opportune to say what it is, risking to politicise the matter more than it has already been," de Marco said. Education Minister Evarist Bar- tolo has publicly admitted that he was still undecided, while back- bencher Deborah Schembri said she had still to listen to further arguments from both sides of the camps before taking a final deci- sion. While nine of the 39 MPs who took part in the vox-pop chose not to comment, the rest – 22 Labour MPs and eight PN MPs – said they would be voting 'Yes'. The only MP who has so far publicly announced she will be voting to ban the spring hunting referendum was Labour back- bencher Marlene Farrugia. Charlo Bonnici (PN) Edward Scicluna (PL) Francis Zammit Dimech (PN) Frederick Azzopardi (PN) Marthese Portelli (PN) Mario de Marco (PN) Leo Brincat (PL) George Pullicino (PN) Robert Cutajar (PN)