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Welcome to the Key, for your news, and information, keeping you up to date with the Gibraltar Political affairs relating to politics, especially party and government issues that concerns us all.

Our main goal in the Key is to give you the true facts such as, intention, policy, reports and public and formal announcements.

The key will express facts and the intentions

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

Today's Press Release Headline

Extra-Ordinary General Meeting Rejects The Policy Of The Gsd Government To Remove The National Day Political Rally

At the extra-ordinary general meeting of the GSLP held on Monday the 18th August, the following motion was passed unanimously after it was debated and discussed. The motion was moved by The Hon Fabian Picardo and seconded by The Hon Gilbert Licudi.

Thr Chairman, Juan Carlos Perez, opened the meeting saying that although there were many issues to consider, these would have to wait for another meeting because the issue at hand took priority over everything else since it is an important matter of principle which went to the core of our identity as a people.

[Press Release 19 August 2008]

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This month Press Release

The Opposition condemns Government’s National Day reaction

The Opposition condemns and regrets the Government’s reaction to its criticisms of the National Day changes removing the traditional political rally which has not been a partisan event in party political terms in the past, on the contrary it has been the demonstration of the political will of the people rejecting any sovereignty concessions to Spain. This is what the people have rejected in the 1967 and the 2002 Referendums , and the message that has come from the rally every year since 1992. There is no reason for changing it this year and converting the event into a municipal function.

The GSD as the party in government may hold whatever views they want, if they no longer believe in proclaiming our political right never to share our sovereignty with Spain, that is a matter for them. We disagree as we are entitled to do. In the General Election we pledged ourselves to restore the National Day rally to ensure it remained the keynote of the celebrations of our Nationhood as it had been in the past.

[Press Release 18 August 2008]

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Government using insulting language as a smokescreen on DSS issue says Opposition

The Minister for Social Services Jaime Netto, in his press release of yesterday is repeating the same untruth that was used by the previous occupant of the post Mrs Yvette del Agua on the last occasion that the Opposition was told that a request for information was refused by the department on the grounds that there was a policy directive that any request from the Opposition should be addressed in writing.

It is not true that the reply given by the department was that they could not provide Members of the Opposition details of individual applicants and that any request for information would need to be addressed in writing to the Principal Secretary.

It would have been nonsense to have given such a reply since firstly no request about information about an individual claimant had been made and secondly the telephone call to the department was made on behalf of the claimant and in his presence and therefore if any information about him was requested he would have been there to provide it himself.

[Press Release 14 August 2008]

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Opposition congratulates A' level students on their success

The Opposition would like to congratulate A’level students at Bayside School, Westside School and the College for the high pass rates that they have achieved.

[Press Release 14 August 2008]

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History of treatment of persons with disabilities not investigated

The manner in which the Social Services Agency and its predecessors have operated the Dr Giraldi Home has been revealed in the statements made by both employees and families to show a history of treatment of persons with disabilities which has not been investigated nor denied nor has any action been taken.

In the course of the Joanna Hernandez Tribunal Hearings the allegations of treatment amounting to abuse of persons with disabilities would have been made under oath and those making the allegations would have been open to cross examination by the legal representative of the Agency.

In fact before the Agency at the very last minute announced they could not produce proof that Joanna Hernandez had been dismissed for the alleged reason namely incompetence, the strategy of the Agency was to object to the number of witnesses being called and to argue that the Tribunal was not about the alleged abuses and that this issue was “collateral”. One would have thought that it was both in the public interest and in the interest of the Agency for that evidence to be brought out in the Tribunal if there was nothing to hide.

[Press Release 14 August 2008]

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Opposition urge Government action on oxygen treatment centre

In January the Minister for Trade and Industry Joe Holliday opened a hyperbaric oxygen treatment centre off Devil’s Tower Road amidst a fanfare of publicity. In his speech at the time the Minister expressed the hope that the new facilities would prove of great help to all.

However, given that the GHA does not refer patients to it then, contrary to the Minister’s expectations, it is not going to be of any help to anyone.

Oxygen treatment therapy has been in use in the United Kingdom for over twenty years. The Opposition understands that such treatment is available under the NHS for non-wound healings and for post-operative cancer related problems.

The establishment of the centre in Gibraltar followed five years of campaigning and the specialised chambers were brought over to Gibraltar from the UK in 2005 by James Pratts, who wanted others to obtain the benefit of the treatment which he himself had experienced.

[Press Release 13 August 2008]

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Every citizen is entitled to receive information about their rights through their MPs says Opposition

This morning the Leader of the Opposition Joe Bossano contacted the ETB on behalf of a worker whose employment was terminated some two months ago and who has not been able to obtain unemployment benefit to date.

The person concerned registered with the ETB and regularly calls at their offices to seek employment and find out about vacancies, notwithstanding the fact that the ETB has not yet been provided by the employer with the Termination of Employment form as required by law.

Despite his regular attendance, the claimant is unable to obtain unemployment benefit after paying social insurance for many years and having submitted a claim for this benefit.

The ETB was very helpful and suggested that the DSS should be contacted and if necessary the two departments could liase and the fact that the person was without work and regularly attending to seek employment would be confirmed by the ETB.

[Press Release 12 August 2008]

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Mayor should stay out of party politics says Opposition

Mr Momy Levy, speaking as Mayor of Gibraltar, has said that National Day should be a day of unity in which politics is put to one side. The Opposition very much regrets his comments which go to the heart of the ongoing controversy between the Government and the Opposition surrounding the downgrading of the National Day political rally.

He conveniently chooses to ignore that the political decision of the GSD, the party which he supports, is the cause of the disunity, if holding different opinions in Gibraltar is now to be labelled disunity by the Mayor of Gibraltar.

In addition, he seems to have forgotten that prior to 1996 the GSD in Opposition had no difficulty in holding different views to the then GSLP Government and in expressing them. At that time, the views included that the platform should include an Opposition speaker, that they thought it should not be called National Day, and that the flag of the day should be the UK’s and not Gibraltar.

[Press Release 11 August 2008]

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Opposition Supports GSP Officers & Calls on Govt to Give Clear Commitment to GSP Association

The Opposition notes the recent exchange in the media between the Gibraltar Government and the Gibraltar Services Police Association.

The Opposition considers that if the MOD is misleading the GSP workforce and its Association as the Government press release implies, then the Government should immediately cease all discussion with the MOD on the transfer of MOD policing duties from the GSP to the RGP.

[Press Release 8 August 2008]

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Allegations which mention the presence of cocaine in residential premises

On June 24th the GSLP issued a press release putting in the public domain information, which has been in the possession of the Social Services Agency since June 2005.

Three years have gone by and nothing was done at the time, nor has it been done since, to investigate and establish the truth or otherwise of allegations which mention the presence of cocaine in residential premises managed by the Agency in whose care there are vulnerable adults.

The Agency’s failure to establish the facts and take action is a serious failure of duty which amounts to an attack on the Human Rights of the service-users entitled to care and protection.

We accuse Mr Jaime Netto of lying to Parliament when he said every incident had been investigated, we challenge the Police to explain how an allegation of the presence of cocaine, which is a prohibited substance, is not investigated by them, whether the Social Services Agency chooses to do so or not, since this is an allegation of a criminal offence being committed.

[Press Release 6 August 2008]

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Reason given for Government raid on Savings Bank reserves does not stand up to scrutiny says Opposition

The reason given by the Government to justify its decision to raid the reserves of the Savings Bank does not stand up to scrutiny.

The Government claims that the decision to remove all the reserves of the Savings Bank is a “win, win, win” decision. This evaluation has to be judged against the background that this Government behaves as if it could do no wrong or make any errors of judgment. Everything they do, according to them, is therefore a “win, win, win” decision.

If taking the reserves of the bank is such a good thing, why has it taken them 12 years to implement?

[Press Release 6 August 2008]

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Changes to National Day are inconsistent with the reasons why it was created says Opposition

The Opposition does not agree that the changes to National Day introduced by the Government are consistent with the meaning of that day and the reason for which it was created. We therefore fully commit to restoring National Day to its intended purpose when in Government.

The purpose of National Day was not just to get the United Kingdom to recognise our right to self determination but to proclaim to the world as a whole, and in particular to our neighbours, that we are a people in our own right, that this land is ours and that we have our own, distinct national identity.

The fact is that Gibraltar is still a British Overseas Territory in the same way as all the other territories awaiting decolonisation. The UK position is that none of them should be considered colonies any more by the UN irrespective of the modernity or otherwise of their constitutions.

[Press Release 5 August 2008]

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Summary of This month Key Issue Number 3 2008
Find Out More About Issue Number 2 2008 Read The Story By Clicking On Our Menu

Gibraltar win at UN

Gibraltar took a big step forward at the United Nations when the Committee of 24 accepted the amendment proposed by Opposition Leader, Joe Bossano, in the Bandung Seminar in Indonesia. This is the first time ever, since 1964, that Gibraltar has been successful in altering the wording of a UN recommendation in its favour.

Joe Bossano opposed the original wording in Indonesia which urged the taking of a pro-active approach to delist the colonies where there was no sovereignty dispute. In spite of a lengthy debate during which Joe had to intervene on six occasions, in the Seminar he was only able to get agreement to refer the matter for a final decision to the full committee in New York. When he went to New York, he urged them to support his amendment and this is what has happened with the removal of the exclusion clause referring to territories where there is a sovereignty dispute. The final text, as now amended by Joe, has been endorsed and goes as a UN document with the rest of the papers of the Seminar to the full session of the Fourth Committee where all UN members are represented.

Waterport delays continue

The last we heard from Peter Caruana is that Phase One of Waterport Terraces would “definitely” be handed over to purchasers some time during May 2008. Well, its July and they still haven’t been handed over although the snagging process has already commenced. This means that the total delay in the completion of the flats is 18 months. During this time, most purchasers have had to pay extra interest on their bridging loans plus continue to pay the cost of the accommodation they presently hold thereby increasing drastically the amount of money they had scheduled to spend during this period.

Frontier Flood

The flood of frontier workers which has reduced job opportunities for Gibraltarians since 1996, aided and abetted as a deliberate GSD Government policy, is reaching tsunami proportions. This is clear from the official figures which most observers consider understate the real position by well over 1,000. Once again in this budget, this deplorable situation was rubbished by the Government with the argument that local residents don’t want these jobs. In the gambling industry, the position now is that only 308 out of 1796 jobs, that is only 17%, are held by Gibraltarians, the lowest proportion ever. The tendency is that whenever Gibraltarians lose their jobs in the sector, they get replaced by frontier workers.

Minister’s arrogance has no limits

Minister Yvette del Agua put her foot in it when she parked her car in a bay reserved for the disabled at the Hospital Car Park some weeks ago. When the Gibraltar Local Disability Movement issued a press release criticising her, she immediately came up with the excuse that it had been the warden at the car park who had suggested she park there. This is no excuse at all since she, of all people, should respect that those parking bays are reserved for disabled persons under law and should have told the warden off for having even suggested this to her..

Shame on Netto!

Former Branch Officer of the TGWU, now Minister in the GSD Government, Jaime Netto, this year decided to launch an unprecedented attack on Joanna Hernandez during his speech to the budget debate. Joanna is the former Manager of the Doctor Giraldi Home who was unfairly dismissed by the Social Services Agency and this was confirmed by the Tribunal when the Government case collapsed and the Government lawyer threw in the towel. Netto, however, had the audacity to claim in Parliament that she had been dismissed for incompetence even though the Government has been unable to prove that allegation in front of the Tribunal.

Our unaffordable homeland

The Ocean Village project

Gibraltar is fast becoming the unaffordable homeland of the Gibraltarians, except for a limited number who are extremely well off and own two luxury homes, one on each side of the border. The rest of us must either spend years on a list waiting to be allocated a Government flat, face exorbitant rents in the Private Sector or throw ourselves at the deep end of a mortgage for a so-called “affordable home”, that is, if you are lucky to be selected. The only alternative for many is to seek accommodation in Spain.

This year the trend is that the cost of residing in your own homeland is very much on the up, so much so that it is out of reach of an increasing number of our own people, and with the GSD Government giving a few more twists of the screw. The supposedly decolonised Gibraltar is heading for a more colonial future than its colonial past. Before the expatriate community was, in the main, the services which rotated through Gibraltar on 3 year tours of duty. Some married locally and made this their home, and in doing so they became Gibraltarians themselves, in outlook and in every other respect.

GOVT HIDES BEHIND NEW TRIBUNAL Ombudsman Stripped Of Powers

The Government has stripped the Ombudsman of powers to investigate complaints by the general public related to housing. Instead, they have included in their new Housing Act a complaints tribunal made up of a lawyer and retired civil servants to look at individual complaints. The Ombudsman is against this move, and so is the Opposition, both see the change as being less transparent and less accountable, but the GSD Government has carried on regardless in their own inimitable way.

The mystery disappearance of David McCutcheon

They sought him here, they sought him there, they sought him everywhere, but the Chief Executive of the Gibraltar Health Authority was nowhere to be seen.

The last time colleagues had set eyes on David McCutcheon was some ten days ago prior to a scheduled meeting with none other than the Chief Minister.

Pensioners up in arms

The Gibraltar Pensioners Association have issued a newsletter in which they are highly critical of the Government for having increased electricity, water and fuel prices as part of the 2008 budget. They are also very angry at the Chief Minister for not even having had the courtesy of replying to them over proposals they have put forward to introduce a new Widow’s Pension Scheme. “We simply continue to be ignored,” say the pensioners.

Menos tripartito y mas para Tito!

Florentino el Caleteño

No tengo mas remedio que referirme de nuevo a los “delays” de la entrega de los pisos en Waterport Terraces porque el pobrecito de mi nieto esta totalmente desesperado. La última promesa de Caruina era que para mayo estarían los pisos listos para entregar, y ya estamos en julio y todavía estamos esperando. Cuando menos, ya estamos en la etapa del “snagging” pero ahora queda lo gordo, completar los contratos con los bancos, algunos de los cuales están cambiando las condiciones previamente acordados a causa de la situación bancaria internacional. Resulta que, encima de lo extra que han tenido que pagar por la espera tan larga, ahora el “mortgage” le cuesta más que antes, y encima no te rías cuando el gobierno le llama “affordable housing”. Y esto es solo la primera fase, las otras fases, échale guindas al pavo, como decía mi tía Paca cuando buscaba pareja. No veo la hora que mi nieto se venga a vivir a Gibraltar y no tenga que cruzar la frontera todos los días de bulla con los niños para la escuela.

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