Thursday, 28 February 2013, 19:57 , by Keith Micallef
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on Thursday evening pledged that a PN government will legislate to protect the rights of the LGBT community.
Dr Gonzi made this promise when interviewed by Celine Paris who features in the popular Net Television drama series Dejavu.
Asked by the presenter about the gender identity bill which was tabled by Labour MP Evarist Bartolo in December 2011, the prime minister said that during this legislature there was not enough time to present such a bill " for well known reasons" pointing his fingers to internal party rifts which characterised the final months of this administration.
He added that if government will not legislate to protect the rights for the LGBT community, it will have to face the consequences, since a number of court rulings have already found some aspects of the current legislation as discriminatory.
Referring to the cost of energy, Dr Gonzi said that for those self-employed who will not benefit from the PN's plans to introduce cheaper utility tariffs during the night such as hairdressers, there is still the option to invest in energy efficient equipment through various government incentives.
He added that when the interconnector will be in operation in a year's time, part of the power station will be switched off during the night. As a result the money saved in electricity generation at night will be dedicated to mitigate daytime tariffs.
The prime minister said that he was shocked when the opposition leader earlier this week declared he was against the privatisation of the shipbuilding. He said that this decision has saved the tax payers millions of euros each year.
Asked whether the PN will consider a change in direction if it loses the general election, the prime minister expressed his confidence that the government's track record in job creation is a good platform for the electorate to confirm it in power for another five years.
On the other hand he said that if the electorate decides that the PN must go in opposition it will have to make a detailed analysis of what went wrong.
However he warned that those calling for change must keep in mind that if " we lose control of the the bigger picture they will have to bear the brunt of their wrong decisions". Appealing to first time voters he said that the PN offers the best guarantee for a secure future.
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