Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/620229
THE year coming to a close will be remem- bered for the resignations of three key politi- cians; former Gozo minister Giovanna Debo- no, former health minister Joe Cassar and outspoken MP Marlene Farrugia (pictured). But while Debono and Farrugia have not exited the political scene by staying on as in- dependent MPs, the 49-year-old Cassar trun- cated his political career by giving up his Par- liamentary seat altogether. His resignation is an indi- cation of a slow but steady turning of the political tide in Malta where politicians normally cling to their positions no matter what, with the blessing of their party. Cassar stepped down after MaltaToday re- vealed that he had accepted free construction work, paid for by entrepreneur Joe Gaffarena, in 2012. Likewise, Debono resigned from the PN after her husband was charged with misappropriation of public funds. In both cases, MaltaToday played a leading role in uncovering the wrongdoing and in bringing pressure to bear on the pro- tagonists. The trend is expected to be carried on to the new year with junior minister Michael Falzon's fate is in the balance as the Prime Minister awaits the conclusions of a investiga- tion into the involvement of the parliamentary secretary for planning in a controversial €1.65 million expropriation deal awarded to Gaffare- na's son, Marco. Newspaper post PGS 12-13 YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY • 27 DECEMBER 2015 • ISSUE 842 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT maltatoday €1.40 IT was the year when for the first time in its history, Malta was 2,000 votes short of abrogating a law through a referendum seeking the abolition of the spring hunting derogation which both major parties support. A cold shower to activists, but the ability of civil society to set in motion a referendum that was a few votes short of a suc- cessful outcome clearly rang the alarm bells of the political establishment. Weeks after the referendum, the PM himself proceeded to stop the spring hunting season in the most arbi- trary way after a protected bird fell in the grounds of a private school. It was the year Malta saw the largest ever environmental protest organised by the newly set up Front Harsien ODZ, fol- lowed by the government partially backtracking by downscal- ing the take up of ODZ land for the American University of Malta, from 90,000 to 18,000 square metres. Clearly the gov- ernment had found more opposition than it had anticipated when it announced the project in the aftermath of the refer- endum. Rather than beaten down, civil society rose back from the ashes of the referendum like a phoenix. A proposed airstrip in Gozo was put on the back burner – and so far the government has refrained from proceeding with land reclamation plans. No further details emerged on an EOI for the redevelopment of the White Rocks site, which abuts on Natura 2000 areas. A revision of the local plans is still in the offing, as the government seems to be reluctant on reopening the Pandora's box of ODZ boundaries. It seems that on land use issues, the government prefers to test the ground, revising its initial plans on the basis of the opposition and support such proposals elicit. Some projects are cautiously making their way up the agenda, like the proposed Gozo tunnel and the proposed motosport track. On both issues the government can count on wide- spread support to counter environmental objections, suggest- ing a divide-and-rule tactic on the part of the government. More high-rise development has been proposed in Tigné and Mriehel which, while penalising residents and raising concern about the impact on the landscape, it may also excite the Du- bai fantasies among a section of the population. While the balance tipped on the side of environmentalists when it came to public mobilisation and sympathy, institu- tionally the scales of the balance continued to tip the other way. Planning rules were changed in a way which further weakened environmental protection in the planning process. The reform saw the removal of the blanket ban on sanctioning illegalities in ODZ and protected areas which came in place in 2011 and removed the obligation of applicants to seek the con- sent of land owners when presenting planning applications. The only silver lining is the birth of a new environmental authority, although toothless in planning issues, may increase the focus on other issues like air quality and water conserva- tion. Land use remained the most controversial aspect of the government's environmental policy. While improvements have been registered in air quality following the closure of the Marsa power station, the country failed to take any concrete action on water issues, apart from pitting the importance of this issue against land use, with Joseph Muscat saying: "We can build lands and tear them down but we can never recuper- ate the water lost. No one is talking on the real issue and how we're risking water scarcity." In the meantime more data has emerged confirming higher than admissible levels of mercury in the surrounding sea and higher than admissible levels of ni- trates in Malta's natural streams. WIN WITH OUR AIRMALTA CONTEST 36 PGS 8-11 How resignations coloured the year in politics THE YEAR OF THE GREEN AWAKENING