Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/649887
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 MARCH 2016 News Din l-Art Helwa urges Parliament to approve public domain bill E N V I R O N M E N T A L NGO Din l-Art Helwa has called on Parliament to unanimously approve a public domain bill that aims to prevent the com- mercialisation of Malta's coastline and seabed and sites of historical and ecological importance. "The public domain bill provides protection for state-owned property and sites, since it imposes restriction upon the gov- ernment as to what it can do with its land," DLH said in a statement. "In doing so, no speculation on state-owned property can occur without it be- ing declassified. This system for declassification should be fool- proof and not create a loophole that would undermine the public domain Bill." The Bill – presented by Opposi- tion MPs Jason Azzopardi, Mar- these Portelli and Ryan Callus - proposes that the first 15 metre of coastline be automatically rec- ognized as part of the public do- main. Other areas being proposed for public domain include valleys, forested areas, nature reserves, open countryside, public squares, forts, parks and any site of ecologi- cal or historical importance. The law would enable the gov- ernment to declassify parts of the public domain through an act of parliament, but only with the sup- port from the majority of MPs. NGOs will be allowed to pro- pose land parcels that should be declared as public domain, and the government will be obliged to respond to their requests within four months. Din l-Art Helwa said that this clause will empower the public to put forward tracts of land to become parks. "Malta has the highest density of population in the EU at 1,346 persons per square kilometre, and such a bill would provide guaran- teed open spaces as a green lung for the ever increasing density of the Maltese Islands.," the NGO said. THE Confedera- tion of Malta Trade Unions has called for an investiga- tion into the off- shore companies held by energy and health minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minis- ter's chief of staff Keith Schembri. "Besides being morally reprehen- sible, lack of good governance may in the long run re- sult in higher costs for honest tax paying citizens," CMTU president Martin Balzan said in a statement. "We want to publicly express our concern that senior govern- ment figures, while negotiating major deals in the name of the Maltese people, are on the other hand holding secretive trusts with companies in places with a reputation of being a preferred destination of hidden funds." "It is essential that these mat- ters are thoroughly investigated and new measures promoting good governance, transparency and accountability are intro- duced in the very near future. It is also important that real or perceived conf licts of interests of persons in government roles to be clearly defined and also re- solved. These are essential prin- ciples in a modern and healthy democracy." The CMTU is composed of the Union Haddiema Maghqu- din, the Malta Medical Associa- tion, the Malta Union of Bank Employees, the Lotto Receiv- ers' Union, the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists, and the Malta Union of Professional Psycholo- gists. Unions concerned on good governance, demand Panamagate investigation