News | Sunday, 15 March 2009

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Deidun says he is not PN’s ‘green pawn’

Matthew Vella
Environmentalist Alan Deidun yesterday launched his MEP candidature for the Nationalist Party in front of the Lapsi quarry of mega-contractor Charles Polidano ‘ic-Caqnu’, saying his nomination was not being exploited by the party to gain the environmental vote, in a bid to dispel any notion of pawning his green credentials.
Deidun said the Prime Minister’s choice to ask him to contest for the MEP elections was “a clear message to encourage those with the environment at heart to make their voice heard.”
He said the PN was not “exploiting my candidature to get the environmental vote while hoping I don’t get elected to the European Parliament.”
Branding the development of the quarry to be “unacceptable”, the Nationalist candidate cited efforts by the Siggiewi council to close down the quarry due to various planning and environmental breaches.
Deidun is proposing that the judicial interest (locus standi) of local councils and NGOs is recognised for environmental matters. “Since public land and the environment in general belong to everybody and every generation, this judicial interest should be recognised so that nobody has to wait for the State to proceed against these cases. This is especially important in cases of illegal occupation of public land, where local councils and NGOs do not have the right to take legal action to return this land to citizens.”
Deidun proposed that locus standi will be recognised by the Courts when a council can present a petition signed by 1% of the Maltese electorate. “Malta is still one of five EU member states that has not yet implemented measures for the effective enforcement of the Aarhus Convention,” Deidun said.
Deidun is also proposing the setting up of an autonomous entity that can provide environmental legal aid, funded by fees payable by the construction and other industries according to their effects on the environment. “This would serve to address the imbalance that exists on the resources at the disposal of developers and industrialists, and those of citizens who feel they have to take up the initiative in the interest of the common good.”
The MEP candidate added that he will campaign for the creation of a European green certificate – on the lines of the anti-mafia certificate in Italy – awarded to individuals and companies tendering for public contracts. “These will have to provide a sworn list of properties they possess or will be using to execute public contracts and they will have to ascertain their properties are in conformity with the law.”

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