The Maltese are democratically on the move.
The Prime Minister of Malta, Lawrence Gonzi, has proposed the setting up of a selective parliamentary committee to discuss the various proposals that were brought up recently by the government and the opposition towards what has been termed as “strengthening democracy”.
He made the proposition during the introductory part of his speech for the second reading of a Freedom of Information Bill.
According to the Indepdenent online, during the speech ”Dr Gonzi made it clear that the government was keeping up to its electoral promises and said that the Bill aims to promote transparency and accountability.”
The Times of Malta quotes the PM as saying the FOI Bill is “a strong good governance statement, one of the strongest in recent history.”
With 70+ countries having already adopted freedom of information law, the Maltese have been wise in ’lesson drawing’ on the issue: the FOI Bill is based on evidence from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and, especially, the United Kingdom.
A public forum, organised by European Parliament, will be held on 14th July to debate the Bill. Attendants will include Tony Bunyan, director of Statewatch, a civil liberties watchdog, and Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue and Information.
4 responses so far ↓
Malta’s Green Party asks for real FOI « Political Ideals and Information Rights // July 21, 2008 at 10:48 am |
[...] 21, 2008 · No Comments Recently I noted developments in Malta relating to strenghtening democracy and freedom of information law [...]
James Carabott // July 25, 2008 at 7:44 pm |
Dear Mr Stubbs,
I would like to congratulate you for your informative and updated website. My collegues and I were surprised to notice the update on Malta, as distances between Tasmania and Malta are considerable, however the internet does miracles!! Globalisation….
We are a group of research analysts assigned with the House of Representatives of Malta and we are contributing for a paper on how to strenghten our parliament and democracy. Since we are two different cultures in two different contexts, may be you can refer us some recommendations, that we are not so used to them and found to be valuable in your country.
Regards
James
rbfstubbs // July 28, 2008 at 11:33 am |
James,
Thank you. I do try to keep the site up-to-date and relevant.
I’d be more than happy to send some information. Will do this via email.
All the best,
Rhys
CHRI concerned about FOI in Malta « Political Ideals and Information Rights // July 30, 2008 at 6:23 pm |
[...] 30, 2008 · No Comments Recently, I’ve noted developments in Malta towards strengthening democracy and, more specifically, freedom of [...]