Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/697149
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JUNE 2016 12 MaltaToday Survey survey's margin of error but suggests that the party has not capitalised sufficiently on the government's shortcomings on green issues. The PN's low score can be attributed to the fact that 14% of PN voters opt for either AD or the PD as the parties they trust most on environmental issues. Only 6% of PL voters did likewise. PN voters were also more likely not to trust any party on environmental issues. The survey also shows Labour's appeal on environmental issues weakest among respondents with a tertiary level of education. Among those with a university degree only 7% trust Labour while 29% trust the PN. Interestingly a tenth of respondents trust AD most in environmental issues, which reflects the greens' historical commitment to green issues, while 3% trust the Democratic Party which has been recently set up by Marlene Farrugia, backed by a number of green activists who have also been vocal on environmental issues. Among those with a university degree 17% trust AD while 7% trust the Democratic Party. Within this category AD is more trusted on green issues than the Labour Party. The survey also shows that air quality, transport related issues and land use dominate the environmental concerns of the population. The survey confirms a growing percep- tion that Malta is over built. A combined 42% expressed a concern on too many buildings being approved, on the loss of ODZ and green areas, on dust from construction and on building heights. 21% expressed a concern on traffic and exhaust from cars while 15% expressed a generic concern on air quality. Only a tenth expressed a concern on rubbish and dirt in the streets. 72% think property is more expensive The survey confirms the perception that property is be- coming more and more expensive. 72% think that property prices have gone up in the past two years and only 25% think that property prices have fallen. 44% think that prices have risen a lot. But significantly, in what could be an indication that a large number of Maltese are involved in the property busi- ness, 22% think that an increase in property prices is a posi- tive thing for them. The survey also shows that while 38% think that having more foreigners buying property in Malta is a positive thing, 36% think that the increase in foreigners buying property is bad for Malta. Moreover Labour voters are more likely to perceive the sale of property to foreigners positively. While only 33% of PN voters perceive the acquisition of property by foreigners positively, 51% of PL voters express the same opinion. Methodology The survey was held between Monday, 20 June and Thurs- day, 24 June. 602 respondents were contacted and the survey was stopped after a 400 quota sample was reached. Margin of error +/-4.9 percentage points. All University Post-sec Secondary Primary PN voters PL voters 52.3% 18.9 % 14.6% 14.2% 61.9% 11.9% 9.5% 16.7% 42.9% 26.2% 19% 11.9% 50.7% 19.7% 16.2% 13.4% 50% 18.6% 14.3% 17.1% 70.2% 11.4% 12.3% 6.1% 50% 17.3% 18.3% 14.4% Do you trust environmental NGOs? Yes No Depends Don't know Curiously, the survey shows that the Labour party enjoys a one-point advantage over the PN with regard to being trusted on environmental issues, despite the concerted attempt by the PN to strengthen its green credentials More people trust NGOs on the environment than political parties The protest in June 2015 against the proposed development in Zonqor attracted over 3,000 people