The Voic(edr iivoenf b yt thhe evo iicMe of aiitsl retaedesrse ) Issue FFoorrttnniigghhttllyy mmaaggaazziinnee ffoorr tthhee DDiiaassppoorraa September 2 237 9, 2020 AA nneeww pprroojjeecctt ffoorr MMssiiddaa CCrreeeekk The new project q is expected to Above is a computer-generated image of change this ....to this how the Msida Creek project recently an - nounced by Infrastructure Malta would look q once completed. A call for tenders has al - ready been issued. Through the creation of two 175-metre long flyovers the project is intended to erad - icate the traffic lights at the busy junction and immensely help the flow of traffic dur - ing peak hours. It should also improve air quality, extend the existing public garden and create a new storm water system. Msida connects the centre with the rest of the country. It is the most popular passage - way to places such as Sliema and G żira. 2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 29, 2020 Kummentarju: Il-qawwa tal-istampa miktuba awn iż-żmenijiet tal-pandemija COVID-19 ġabu għal kopji ta’ The Voice. Sa anke kellna talbiet biex magħhom ħafna ċaqlieq u tibdil fil-ħajja, speċjal - imwasslulhom kopja d-dar għax ma jistgħux joħorġu. ment fost dawk vulnerabbl, li fost kollox sabu Kellna wkoll djar tal-anzjani li talbuna kopji. F’każ Dferm aktar ħin liberu. Imma aktar minhekk qed isibu minnhom wassalnielhom kull edizzjoni, u tant ħadu wkoll nuqqas ta’ liberta’. pjacir jaqraw The Voice li sa kien hemm min, fost l-anz - Minħabba r-restrizzjonijiet u għal aktar sigurtá biex jani li ċemplilna biex juri l-apprezzament tiegħu. Fost ibiegħdu l-imxija ftit li xejn jistgħu joħorgu. Hemm ukoll dawn kellna waħda li b’entużjażmu qaltilna, “meta waslu nuqqas ta’ komunikazzjoni ma’ dak li s-soltu kien jagħm - l-kopji qisna konna rbaħna l-lotterija”. lihom ħajjithom ħafna iktar interessanti. Il-ġemgħat li jiltaqgħu fix-shopping centres ukoll ikunu Aħna ta’ The Voice of the Maltese bqajna għaddejjin, qed jistennew il-kopji tal-magażin. Il-maġġoranza anke jekk taħt ċerti diffikultajiet. Aħna ma nippruduċux tagħhom jippreferu jaqraw il-verżjoni stampata ta’ The biss pubblikazzjoni digitali iżda wkoll immexxu l-uniku Voice. magażin stampat li jinbiegħ fl-Awstralja li hu indirizzat l- Nirringrazzjawkom u nittamaw li ma ndumux ma aktar lejn il-komunitá Maltija. nerġgħu lura għan-normal. Bqajna nistampaw b’ħafna tbatija, imma ċ-ċirkolazzjoni Nagħtu ħajr lil dawk li abbonaw għax zdiedu b’għaxra effettwatna xi ftit għax il-gruppi Maltin fejn is-soltu jiġi fil-mija. Inwiegħdu wkoll lil dawk li s-soltu jixtru The mqassam il-magażin jinsabu kollha magħluqin. Voice of the Maltese izda ma sabuhiex li jekk iridu kopji Iżda ħaġa tal-iskantament kemm għad għandna komu - b’lura (back copies) nistgħu nadduhomlhom meta nil - nitá li tiddependi fuq l-istampa miktuba. Dan nistgħu taqgħu mill-gdid. Il-kopji jmorru lura għall-ħarġa 224 nikkonfermawh għax qed nirċevu ħafna telefonati jitolbu (Marzu 24, 2020). MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS High Commission & Consulates of Malta in Australia High Commission of Malta - Canberra H.E. Mr. Charles Muscat (High Commissioner for Malta to Australia and non-resident High Commissioner to New Zealand) 38 Culgoa Circuit, O’Malley, ACT 2606 (02) 6290 1724 / 1426 / 1573 0433 799 947 www.foreignandeu.gov.mt [email protected] Consulate General - Sydney Consulate General - Melbourne Mr. Lawrence Buhagiar (Consul General) Mr. Mario Farrugia Borg (Consul General) St. Martins Tower, Suite 10.04, Level 10, 31 Market St, Sydney NSW 2000 Suite 613, 6th Floor, 343 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 (02) 9262 9500 0430 402 177 (03) 9670 8427 0413 621 177 (02) 9264 4722 [email protected] (03) 9670 9451 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Tuesday September 29, 2020 The Voice of the Maltese 3 Another service offered by The Voice of the Maltese providing legal information to our readers Abuse in the form Coercive Control: Should it be illegal? by Paul aims to cause emotional or mental harm. Sant The behaviour is repetitive, and conducted with the intention of intimidating, control- he most prevalent aspect of domes- ling, or causing fear in the victim. tic violence is the gradual toxic If you examine each small act in isolation, household expenses; and build-up of coercive and control- the act itself may not seem significant, • withholding or threatening to lTing behaviour, with or without physical however when the course of conduct is withhold financial support that is nec- abuse. Even when physical abuse is pres- looked at as a whole the picture becomes essary for the maintenance of an inti- ent, coercive and controlling behaviour much more sinister. Examples include: mate partner and/or their children. sets the scene and enables the continued • Embarrassing a person in front of perpetration of the abuse. others; Invisibility Research shows that the most devastating • Name-calling; Although it penetrates many parts of the and long term consequences of family vi- • Threatening to harm a person, relationship, it can persist undetected to olence are caused by coercive and control- their pets, family members or friends; outsiders. It can assume a variety of forms ling aspects of the abuse. The resulting • Treating a person badly because and does not leave physical evidence. harm is both significant and enduring. of characteristic they cannot change For victim-survivors, this increases their (such as religion, race, past, Gap in the legislation disability, feelings of powerlessness and disconnec- gender, sexuality, or family); tion to wider social networks. For many At the moment coercive control has not been • Ignoring a person; survivors, coercive and controlling abuse enacted as a separate offence in NSW or • Intentionally confusing a person. were coupled with physical violence to other state or territory in Australia, except for This might include someone moving create devastating consequences. Tsmania, nor has it been integrated into ex- or changing things and then denying isting domestic and family violence offences. they have done this. Should it be criminalised? What are acts of coercion and control? Financial Abuse There is no definitive answer to this ques- tion yet. There is currently a movement to- Coercive control is the use of intimida- Financial abuse is perpetrated with the in- wards criminalising coercive control by tion, isolation and control, in order to re- tention of controlling or intimidating the way of a new offence. The primary driver strict the freedom of the victim and victim, causing mental harm, apprehension of the current push for new legislation is intentionally destroy the victim’s self-es- or fear. Acts of financial abuse include: the recognition of the infliction of psycho- teem, confidence and wellbeing. • forcing a person to hand over logical harm as a key aspect of family vio- It is difficult to neatly define a category of control of their assets and/or income; lence. coercive and controlling acts, as the abuse • selling a person’s property, or the Its prevalence, toxicity and severity is is linked to the idiosyncrasies of the partic- property of their minor children, with- considered so widespread that domestic vi- ular relationship in which it occurs. It is nu- out their consent; olence support specialists, frontline work- anced and multi-faceted. It can include: • stopping a person from earning ers and legal professionals have joined to 1. psychological abuse; their own income; push for the re-examination of the case for 2. financial abuse; • preventing a person from partici- new law. 3. acts that emphasise the invisi- pating in decisions regarding house- However there is concern that the justice bility of the victim, and hold expenditure or the sale of joint system is not ready for such a change. The 4. isolation. property; challenges that will need to be considered • preventing an intimate partner Psychological abuse include: from accessing joint bank accounts 1. Will the threat of imprisonment Psychological abuse is behaviour that for the purpose of meeting normal deter perpetrators? 2. Will victims engage with police and the courts and how do we address PAUL SANT existing barriers to access? 3. Are law enforcement officers ad- (SOLICITOR) equately trained to identify coercive control? PARTNER AT LONGTON LEGAL 4. What are the unintended conse- For All Your Legal Needs quences? Is there a risk of misidenti- Now at: fication of the victim and/or systems 21 George Street abuse by the perpetrator? It is a complex issue that has attracted the Parramatta attention of numerous enquiries and law reform commission reports. Watch this Phone: 8599 8877 space. Also at: Level 4, 370 Pitt Street, Sydney. Ph: 8355 9999 We have provided you with an overview Email: [email protected] of the topic above but you should consult a professional for advice specific to your Maltese Spoken circumstances. 4 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 29, 2020 Co-option of Members inn M aMlta the Naatiolnatlista par’tys is i n Pthe tahroers olf aniotaher mgenereal elenctiont . Hence, the leadership election merely three years after Adrian Delia voters’ next preference on was elected leader. His challenger is Bernard Grech who the relinquishing or resign - is backed by the so-called Blue Heroes or rebels, depend - ing MP’s ballot has already ing on whose side one happens to be. been exhausted. IAn important fact is that Grech is in exactly the same position This is because under that Delia was in three years ago when he was elected leader: Malta’s electoral system an he is not a member of Parliament and if he wins the leadership MP’s or candidate’s vote contest he can only take-up the role of Leader of the Opposition can only be transferred through co-option.