@REVERSE-12:JULY

TOURISM Minister Ewart Brown came under fire from one of his predecessors for an apparent "about-face" over mega-ships. Former UBP Minister Jim Woolridge condemned Dr. Brown's decision to invite mega-ships to the island and extend the cruise ship season until November, pointing to a statement made by the doctor five years earlier in which he said mega-ships would never be welcomed in Bermuda.

Dr. Brown was also attacked after the revealed that he attended a banquet hosted by the Reverend Al Sharpton in the US ? at the expense of taxpayers.

It was a particularly hot month for Government which was even blamed for the weather. A lack of rain had water dealers working around the clock ? and chastising the Ministry of Works & Engineering for failing to maintain leaky water tanks.

But perhaps the biggest story of the summer was the extensive fire at the Belco plant which caused an island-wide blackout. The flames took 29 hours to extinguish with up to 75 firefighters battling the blaze at any one time.

The revealed that fire inspectors had examined the power plant just weeks before the fire, a precaution that helped them contain the damage.

@REVERSE-12:AUGUST

THE issue of Independence came to the boil, with Premier Alex Scott blasting Governor John Vereker over public remarks made at the Speaker's Dinner. Sir John reiterated to his audience that the UK would withdraw citizenship from an Independent Bermuda ? a claim Mr. Scott described as "premature and inappropriate".

Responding to questions put to him by the Bermuda Independence Commission, the Premier said he gave the Governor a dressing-down, accusing him of allowing an octogenarian anti-Independence activist "right of Attila the Hun" to write his speeches.

"I thought it was premature, inappropriate at the time, and it may have, in my opinion, misled the public because some of what he said will be discussed with the British before it becomes engraved in granite," Mr. Scott told BIC commissioners.

@REVERSE-12:SEPTEMBER

AUDITOR General Larry Dennis expressed alarm at another proposed change if Bermuda became Independent ? that future holders of the post will be hired by the Public Services Commission on limited terms.

Mr. Dennis told the BIC that an auditor appointed by a Government body would be compromised while the idea of a limited term would deter the most capable applicants.

In the same week, business executives told the BIC that Independence would not necessarily trigger an exodus of international businesses.

Former Attorney General Lois Browne Evans kept the issue bubbling with a further proposal ? that an Independent Bermuda should drop the UK Privy Council in favour of the trouble-hit Caribbean Court of Justice. The UK Privy Council is the island's highest court of appeal.

International business representative David Ezekiel said such a move had the potential to cause widespread instability in the off-shore sector. When the BIC finally submitted its completed report to the public, it was condemned for containing a glaring inaccuracy on the issue of Independence.

The report read: "The Commission learned that, in many cases, the decision on Independence was determined by means of a general election and, in no instance, did the Commission discover the use of a referendum."

Pressure group Bermudians For Referendum said the claim was totally inaccurate and illustrated the Commission's bias towards Independence being decided by election rather than referendum.

Soon-to-be-axed Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent had his share of problems as the year drew to a close. The revealed Mr. DeVent had the authority to step in and save a stalled housing project ? but failed to do so.

@REVERSE-12:OCTOBER

THE Premier was at the centre of another political storm ? very much of his own making ? throughout October. After receiving a terse e-mail from tourism activist Tony Brannon which alleged Government was failing the industry, Mr. Scott sent a memorandum to Department of Communication and Information director Beverle Lottimore ? but inadvertently copies it to Mr. Brannon.

Mr. Scott's e-mailed memo read: "Madame Director, FYI.

"Mr. Brannon. In regard to the Freedom of Speech in Bermuda Mr. Brannon, you exercise it and abuse it every day.

"P.S. Madame Director: You can now climb down off the ceiling ? I did not send the above . . . I just got it out of my system by sending it to you and you alone. However, I am getting tired of listening to and taking crap from people who look and sound like Brannon."

Mr. Brannon, who is white, accused the Premier of racism and made a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.

Five days after the broke the story, Mr. Scott issued an explanation through an advertisement in two other newspapers, defending his remarks and referring to Mr. Brannon's original message as "disrespectful and offensive and laced with obscenities".

The Premier went on to say that his use of the phrase "people who Brannon" was not a reference to Mr. Brannon's colour, but was, in fact, a literary device employed by such scribes as William Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. He did, however, apologise for using the word 'crap'.

And he issued a veiled threat to curb the constitutional right to freedom of speech by launching "a major initiative to address those elements that seek to divide us".

The Human Rights Commission later rejected Mr. Brannon's complaint, saying that, under current legislation, no offence had taken place.

Another slip of the tongue landed the Premier in more hot water just two weeks later ? this time with Whitehall.

Following talks with the UK's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in London, Mr. Scott revealed details of the meeting to the island's media.

He said that his proposal for Independence to be decided by way of a joint referendum and General Election was met with some interest by the British delegation who ruled that "such a unique solution of election and referendum would not necessarily be out of the equation".

A Whitehall source later revealed that the UK Government was embarrassed by the leak, adding that protocol forbade either party speaking out on the behind-closed doors talks.

@REVERSE-12:NOVEMBER

ANOTHER loose-lipped member of Government found himself in hot water almost as soon as he took office. New Works & Engineering and Housing Minister David Burch was accused of breaching Cabinet rules by continuing to host his Sunday night radio show after being appointed to the Ministry.

The Premier eventually rejected Opposition calls for the show to be plugged, saying the code did not prohibit Ministers from practising journalism.

But the Opposition was further outraged when UBP Senator Gina Spence Farmer was told that she could not help produce a radio show presented by Bermuda College students ? because of a supposed conflict of interest.

The College, whose chairman is a Government Senator, told students that the programme might become political with Sen. Spence Farmer at the helm.

Minister Burch kept his radio show in the spotlight by referring to programme callers critical of Government as "house niggers".

Another caller took the Minister to the Human Rights Commission after alleging that the host cut her off after she confirmed she was white. The outcome of that complaint is still pending.

Minister Burch also came under attack after defending the cost of the Berkeley school project.

At a Press conference, he claimed that the final cost of the building would be $121.7 million ? just $23 million over the original estimate.

But Shadow Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin then accused Col. Burch of trying to mislead the country. She pointed out that Government figures released by Finance Minister Eugene Cox in 2000 put the total cost of the project at $71.2 million ? and that the final cost of the school would be more than $50 million over budget.

"How gullible does Sen. Burch believe the people of Bermuda to be when he attempts to mislead them with a statement that the project is only $23 million over budget?" she asked.

Opposition Health spokeswoman Louise Jackson defended the rights of seniors by exposing supposed neglect at a Government nursing home.

Mrs. Jackson revealed to the that seniors were living in sub-standard conditions at the Pembroke Nursing Home while disgruntled and non-accountable staff failed to provide adequate care.

@REVERSE-12:DECEMBER

CONSTRUCTION became the political hot potato as the year drew to a close. Architect Ian Gordon questioned a Government proposal to place prefabricated homes at Morgan's Point, adding that a requirement for an environmental impact study to be carried out before any development got under way appeared to have been waived.

And he said contaminants already recorded at the location could be spread through water run-off from the temporary homes.

Bank of Bermuda's plans to build a new head office on the site of the former Trimingham's store were thrown into further controversy when the revealed that Government ? which has the final say on whether the plan can go ahead ? was looking at buying up the bank's former properties if the project gets Planning approval. The bank was also condemned for "consigning Bermuda's history to the trash can" after it removed a series of parish crests that had been decorating the facade of its current head office for more than 30 years. The Bermuda Historical Society accused the bank and its parent company, HSBC, of trying to re-write history.

Health Minister Patrice Minors hit the headlines after she lashed at out the Salvation Army. The charity cried foul ? and called for more funding ? after Government confirmed it was spending nearly $1.5 million refurbishing the Premier's official residence,

When the organisation said the money could have been spent on a new homeless shelter ? something which has been continually promised by Government in recent years but always shelved at the last minute ? Mrs. Minors said she was "fed up" with the charity's request for more cash.

The construction industry had its own concerns after the West End Development Corporation failed to secure a deal with cement giant Cemex to take over the Bermuda Cement Company.

The year ended with one of the biggest political rows of 2005 when Government backbencher Ren?e Webb sought to introduce legislation protecting gays from discrimination.

The former Minister planned to force MPs to vote on the issue after tabling an additional amendment to a bill on the Human Rights Act brought by Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler.

But MPs dodged the issue after Mr. Butler's original bill was dropped from the House of Assembly's order paper at the last minute.