The case of illegal works being carried out at a Zejtun property owned by a company belonging to Minister Helena Dalli's husband is no trivial manner, contrary to what the Prime Minister said yesterday, PN MP Charlo Bonnici said this evening.

Mr Bonnici was speaking in the parliamentary debate on the financial estimates of the environment ministry.

The PN MP noted that the government will be phasing out the eco-tax as long as the importers join a waste packaging scheme by June. But many operators are ignoring the polluter pays principle, he said. The number of operators who are not enrolled in a scheme and are not self-compliant has decreased from 600 to 77.

In a press conference the day after the budget Minister Leo Brincat tried to give the impression that this is an environmentally friendly budget but the truth is far from that. Several NGOs have criticised the government for forgetting the environment in the budget.  

Mr Bonnici said the Opposition has not heard anything on the MEPA demerger, which is supposed to be carried out by mid-2015. "This deadline, like many others, has to be taken with a pinch of salt."

The PN MP said the authority responsible for the environment and resources has not been established yet. In the meantime the destruction of the environment continues, with an increase in construction in ODZ areas. He asked if it was time to create a new agency to look after Natura 2000 sites. "We expected the government to come out with more ambitious plans on the environment," he said.

Mr Bonnici said Environment Minister Leo Brincat keeps blaming all problems arising at the Sant Antnin recycling plant on the previous administration but he has had more than one and a half years to fix things.

"We have also heard nothing on the Waste-to-energy concept and the new incinerator. Energy generation at the Sant Antnin plant has not resumed." The energy produced was used to head the indoor pool at Inspire.

The government still has not announced when it will complete the new gas-fired power station at Delimara and when it will close down the BWSC "cancer factory."

PN MP Michael Gonzi congratulated the new Animal Rights Commissioner, Emanuel Buhagiar. He expressed his disappointment, however, that the four-hour long budget speech hardly mentioned animals. It only said that the government would be building a pet cemetery, which was also included in last year's budget, the setting up of a National Animal Welfare Fund, for which there was no budget and shelters for karozzini, which were also promised last year." It is as if animal welfare only means horse shelters for this government."

Dr Gonzi noted that the government had increased two dog beaches and opened a new dog park in Ta' Qali but said it has done nothing about strays. The Animal Welfare Directorate does not pick up strays unless they are injured. That work is carried out by NGOs, but what budget has the government allocated for them?

The PN MP said the government risks incurring fines for illegal hunting when the money could be better spent on animal welfare. He referred to this week's charade in court where Birdlife activists were charged with being in possession of protected birds which had been shot by hunters. "Do birds not also feel pain and stress? Should they not also have rights?"

He asked what happened to the 700 illegally imported song birds who were confiscated by customs recently. Is it true that almost 500 died while being held as evidence? Have the others been ringed or have they been released and become easy prey for poachers? Dr Gonzi also asked if horse racing are being regulated and why horse racing is allowed to take place under the blazing sun.

The new Ta' Qali dog park was a good initiative, he said, but why did the government put it right next to the existing one. What about the south and Gozo? How many pet shops have been registered? What controls are there for the sale of animals over the internet? How many dog breeders are registered? Is it true that no new breeding licenses have been issued in the past year? he asked. 

The PN MP asked if there were any border controls regulating the importation of exotic animals and if it was true that some people had imported poisonous snakes. If so, do we have the necessary vaccines to treat snake bites? "This is a budget with no vision when it comes to animals. It discriminates between species; some are protected, others are left to be killed, raced in the sun or exhibited in zoos. It is also completely detached from the NGO sector and oblivious to their needs."

PN MP and Deputy Speaker Censu Galea said the introduction of an excise tax of 20 cents per litre on wine will negatively impact wine producers and could put their hard work, going back decades, at risk. The government was inconsistent when it said that it will introduce the tax to address a discrepancy but at the same time said that Maltese wines are of high quality and should be promoted abroad.

Mr Galea also spoke on the tax on tyres - 70cents for every kilogramme - and said this will affect farmers and other producers, who are being burdened with higher costs.

Fish farms will also face increased costs after the government announced an increase in the price of fish feed.

The PN MP urged for more collaboration between the government and Local Councils on green projects. The government should keep investing in the abbattoir, the fish market and the open market to help the fisheries, agricltural and livestock sectors, which are neither small nor irrelevant. Mr Galea said the government has always been highly evasive on the subject of the pitkali market.