Eroding the Public’s Right to Access Information

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar roundly condemns the ongoing erosion of residents’ rights by the Planning Authority, which is now delaying the publication of information on applications, giving objectors less time to inform themselves of cases and prepare objections.

The Planning Authority (PA) is hiding behind legalities to justify the fact that for years it has been reducing the public’s access to environmental information in order to give developers an unfair advantage. Instead of issuing regulations to favour developers, the PA should be honouring its commitments to the United Nations Aarhus Convention and the EU Directive on Public Access to Environmental Information. These stipulate that

“The public concerned shall be informed, either by public notice or individually as appropriate, early in an environmental decision-making procedure, and in an adequate, timely and effective manner,” and “Each Party shall provide for early public participation, when all options are open and effective public participation can take place.”

Far from facilitating the public’s access to information and participation in decision-making, our authorities stopped publishing planning applications in mainstream media, relegating it to the Government Gazette, which cannot be easily purchased like a newspaper, nor it is easy to access online, penalising those who do not have Internet access, notably the older generation.

FAA had campaigned long and hard for the details of planning applications to be made available to the public on the PA website, in keeping with the EU Directive. This right is now being curtailed by the fact that one needs an e-id in order to access such information. This is an undemocratic and retrograde measure as many Maltese and foreign residents do not have an e-id and are therefore barred from accessing important information.

  The same Directive also stipulates that

“officials and authorities assist and provide guidance to the public in seeking access to information, in facilitating participation in decision-making and in seeking access to justice in environmental matters.” Quite the opposite happens in Malta, where no guidance is available to help the public manage the PA’s complicated procedures. Far from “supporting associations, organizations or groups promoting environmental protection”

intimidation has become the order of the day. As for justice, the court case instituted by FAA and other eNGOs against Government’s Rationalisation Schemes has been dragging on for 12 years.

 In a study carried out by University of Malta, a PA official had admitted that

“public participation is conducted merely because it is a legal requirement, and that it is thus a token exercise,“ticking the box and saying, yes, we consulted the public”, without the process going any further. Another policy maker questioned the timing of public hearings, arguing “that they are often scheduled in such a way as to make it difficult for those affected to attend, “possibly deliberately”.

There was also criticism by both members of the public and planners of late involvement of the public, seen to take place only when everything is “cooked and ready”.