Bonġu News on 14 March 2022

Film awards: FOI requests on cost rejected

The Malta Film Commission and the Tourism Ministry have so far successfully avoided disclosing the total cost of the Malta Film Awards before the election.

A respective Freedom of Information request by the Times of Malta was rejected by the commission, saying documents were “still being compiled” more than a month later.

Industry insiders have suggested that the event, budgeted at €400,000, actually cost well over a million.

A separate request on the salary of host David Walliams, filed by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, was rejected for confidentiality reasons.

FAA: protected Mdina tree chopped down

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar has condemned the chopping down of a 100 year-old, protected Aleppo Pine just outside Mdina on Saturday.

In October, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg announced a €1.2million makeover of the “inadequate” Rabat playground next to Mdina’s main gate.

FAA pointed out that both the tree and the entire area enjoy the highest level of legal protection due to high landscape value.

The NGO questioned what action the Environment and Resources Authority would be taking, as the law stipulates a fine of up to €25,000 for the total destruction of a protected tree.

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar also asked whether such fine would be paid by the person who authorised the illegal felling or by the taxpayer.

Golden Bay: trampled sand dunes recover

The once heavily trampled sand dunes at Golden Bay are recovering, the Heritage Parks Federation Ranger Unit has reported.

It said its patrolling rangers spent the last summers making sure that beach visitors adhered to the signs prohibiting trampling.

The rangers said the dune is home to several threatened flora species and reminded visitors that entering the closed off area is illegal.

The presence of patrolling rangers at Golden Bay will be increased “to make sure that 2022 will be another successful year for the dunes and its habitat”.

_{Cover image: David Walliams, Screenshot Malta Film Awards}