Carmel Cacopardo, ADPD-The Green Party Deputy Chairperson, stated: “While the Minister’s commitment is laudable, it should be emphasised that the fireworks used in our locality celebrations should not be considered in isolation. The considerable impacts being shouldered by agriculture as a result of the operation of the fireworks industry should be the starting point of the national debate. He said that “the negative impacts of the fireworks industry on agriculture are not factored into the regulatory process. Cacopardo concluded that this leads to the consideration that the time for protecting agriculture and the rural community from the negative impacts of the fireworks industry is long overdue. It is only after factoring in agriculture and the rural community that we can start to seriously consider the fireworks industry.