Keith Azopardi, Leader of the Opposition, has issued a statement criticising the Chief Minister for scheduling the start of the parliamentary debate regarding the Motion on the Principal Auditor report during a time when he is unavailable.

A statement from the GSD follows below:

The Chief Minister will start the parliamentary debate on his Motion on the Principal Auditor when he knows the Leader of the Opposition is away at his daughter’s graduation. 

Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi said: 

“On Friday 12 September we were informed that the Parliament would next sit as from Tuesday 23 September.

As usual the Opposition gets no notice of when Parliament sits or for how long.

This is part of the problem of why we say  Parliament doesn’t work well or hold Government properly to account.

The Government plays the calendar and often  doesn’t tell the Opposition what business will be conducted which seems designed to cause maximum disruption and  negatively affects the quality of Parliamentary scrutiny.  

Usually a monthly meeting of Parliament can span a few days and the set agenda always starts with Questions which,  in itself, takes 3-4 days before dealing with Motions and Bills. I therefore expected that the Motion was unlikely to  come on till after questions on Thursday 25 September or Friday 26 September. 

To make sure, on 12 September, I reached out to Mr Picardo to ask for his confirmation that he would not take the  Motion ahead of the usual order because it was my daughter’s graduation in England on Tuesday 23 September. His  message was that he intended to proceed with the Motion on 23 September. 

I asked him to reflect further and to find another day for this Motion given that the Parliamentary sitting will inevitably  span a few days and probably will extend over two weeks. But Mr Picardo has confirmed he intends to start the debate  this Tuesday. What we have been able to agree is that he will adjourn the debate after his contribution so I can reply  on my return.

I have changed my flight to catch the first available flight to Gibraltar on Wednesday to do so.  

I regret, though, that the Government are insisting on starting the debate on Tuesday which is the only day I cannot  do and not the normal order of business anyway.

Why could any other available day over the two weeks that  Parliament will sit not have been chosen? Inevitably as I will not be there throughout it will make my reply on this  important Motion more difficult. 

People will understand that the setting of the date of my daughter’s graduation is beyond my control whereas Mr  Picardo picks and chooses the days he goes to Parliament, for how long and when he adjourns to. He could therefore  change the date. People will also understand that a graduation is a one-time only event and that I will obviously attend  my daughter’s graduation.  

In the circumstances it seems to me that the unwillingness to change what is within their total control is just more  playing of unnecessary political games. I know that if the roles were reversed it would be inconceivable to me that a  GSLP Leader of the Opposition should be placed in this position (on a Motion of this public importance).  

I am dismayed that I have had to issue this statement to explain the circumstances but I wanted people to understand  why I will not be in Parliament on Tuesday.

I take my Parliamentary and political role seriously and people know I am  fully committed to my work. But when we aren’t consulted on sittings or timings and cannot ever plan (but they can)  it is just another sign of why current systems do not work and how the Government plays the system.”