PLP's Lister questions wisdom of having drug-free zones Shadow Transport Minister Dennis Lister asked what happened to Government's commitment to shut down places where drugs were sold when it stated that it wished to create drug free areas around schools and community centres.

What about the rest of the Island, especially clubs which were recognised as being a problem, he asked.

And what happened to the child who walked down the street from school and bought drugs, he added.

Mr. Lister said it seemed Government was saying that some places were okay to have drugs.

It would also be easy for the community centres on the Island to be policed because there were effectively only two of them in operation.

Government had already tried to enforce drug free zones in Sandy's Parish when it moved the dealers and users away from the Naval Field with the help of community members but they had returned.

Mr. Lister said the whole Island should be a drug free zone but even if drug free zones were established, what radius would they have.

And the community had to understand that alcohol was also a drug.

He said he hoped the new legislation would include stopping the sale of alcohol within the zones.

Mr. Lister moved on to question Government policies regarding Bermudianisation.

He said the people coming in from overseas to work were supposed to have special skills and training but a recent situation had shown him that was not necessarily the case.

A foreign woman who worked in the hospitality industry had applied for a secretarial position with him, he said.

When he looked at her resume it showed she had done nine months of training and had about three months of work experience in her hospitality position.

Surely there were Bermudians who could have done her job, he exclaimed.

The UBP should address this fault in their policy, he said, as it was the type of situation Bermudians dealt with constantly.

Mr. Lister also asked why there was no mention of the taxi industry and what Government was intending to do about its situation in the Throne Speech.

Another report was on its way, he continued, but previous reports and their recommendations were sitting on a shelf gathering dust.

And Mr. Lister said the PLP were quiet on the Airport issue because Transport Minister Wayne Furbert had just taken over the position and they were being compassionate.

However he questioned the impact the new landing fees which went up from 30 cents per 1000 pounds to $3.25 per 1000 pounds over the year -- had on the airlines.

He noted they had switched to using smaller planes for the off season which could have a negative effect on the Island as it limited the seat capacity available.

If Tourism Minister David Dodwell was successful in boosting visitor arrivals or a large convention wished to come to the Island there might not be enough seats available, he said.

Mr. Lister said an answer to be considered was lowering the landing fees during the off season to provide an incentive for the larger planes to continue flying to the Island.

He also warned about allowing a McDonald's to set up at the Airport because it could create the wrong last impression for departing visitors.

He closed by saying that he wanted Mr. Furbert to understand that his "honeymoon'' at the Airport was over and the PLP would be vigilant and would discuss the issues as they arose.

It was not "all a bed of roses'' there and there were issues which needed to be addressed that would be addressed.

Information and Technology Minister John Barritt commended The Royal Gazette for its publishing of the Throne Speech and the Opposition's reply as it gave the public chance to compare the two.

At the end of the day the voter would cut through all the political "posturing, posing and pontificating'', he said.

Mr. Barritt added that he rated both speeches highly although on different scales.

While he rated the Throne Speech highly for its content, he rated the reply highly for the PLP's "political gymnastics'' which saw it "fudge and flip-flop''.

Mr. Barritt suggested the PLP might be having internal difficulties after helping pass the amendments to the Telecommunications Act in the House of Assembly then helping to have it turned down in the Senate.

Despite the stall in the process, he continued, Government had moved on and had continued its review and consultations on the matter.

It would be back with the amendments and others, he added.

The community wanted to see competition, he said, as it hoped it would lead to a reduction in prices but a Bermudian solution needed to be found for the issue.

Shortly the department would be issuing licenses to international and domestic carriers, he said, while TeleBermuda had been granted a conditional license over the summer.

The conditions included their commitment to build a trans-Atlantic cable and put $8 million toward that construction which would take them between 18 and 24 months.

Mr. Barritt added that the company would forfeit a further $2 million if they did not fit those requirements.

He added that TeleBermuda was in the process of setting up a satellite dish which could see it providing limited operation by Christmas.

On the domestic front, one of the three successful applicants had pulled out and the other two, North Atlantic Telecommunications (NAT) and Bermuda Digital Company Limited (BDCL) were still proceeding.

Both were poised to go ahead upon receiving a their licenses but their was a technical problem with Bermuda only having two cellular bands to transmit on and Telco already held one of these.

NAT had applied with the intention of using the other band while BDCL originally intended to use new technology which did not require a band.

However, continued Mr. Barritt, BDCL had found they could not make their system affordable and had asked to use the same technology as NAT but the sole remaining band could not be split to accommodate the two carriers.

He said he was waiting for recommendations on the matter before he made a decision.

Mr. Barritt added that there would be necessary legislation changes to reflect this move forward and help guide disputes as they arose.

It was important to note, he added, that the changes would also increase the burden upon his department and an increase in staff would most likely be needed.

The changes would also provide benefits to residents whether they were employees or investors.

Moving on, Mr. Barritt said he was also looking at possibly reducing the custom duty on computers brought into the Island for educational purposes.

Bermudians needed to realise, he continued, that instead of buying an extra television set they should get a computer which should be as commonplace in a home as a telephone.

He said this would be doing children a great service as within the education system, computers had already been provided and were being used.

The Internet would follow and it was important that this was controlled and not provided on an unlimited basis to children, he added.

There were programmes which could be put in place to control what Internet information was accessible and it was important that these were in place.

At the end of the day people had to wake up and develop an understanding and appreciation for computers.

Turning to the subject of long term residents, Mr. Barritt said the Government's plan to prepare a green paper looking into the matter was a fair and reasonable approach to a "contentious issue''.

Mr. Barritt said Bermudians needed to be reassured there were people on the right path.

And it was wholly wrong to write anyone off.

It was important not to let media coverage of the negative events in the community distort the overall picture.

Mr. Barritt said it was not only wrong, but also inaccurate, for MPs to present only the bad things.

In an impassioned presentation, Shadow Health and Social Services Minister Renee Webb said the flavour of the Throne Speech was one of "punish, punish, punish and promise, promise, promise.''.

"When do promises become lies? When will Government learn that imprisonment is not the answer to Bermuda's current woes.'' Ms Webb said the PLP did not believe tougher penalties and legislation was the answer.

The key to the problem was what happened to a person while in jail.

If nothing happened to rehabilitate that offender then the chances were he would commit another crime. And this was what was occurring.

"Westgate is a revolving door for prisoners. Recidivism is extremely high.'' Ms Webb said the UBP had threatened the stability of the Country through the covert and overt actions of its MPs.

She asked who was going to punish the Minister responsible for paying $2 million to Sea-Land Construction. And she added: Who was going to punish the Minister for entertaining an Airport concession bid by former UBP members, while another proposal was rejected? Who was going to punish the Minister of Finance for giving certain benefits to a Trust of which he was the beneficiary? Who was going to punish former Environment Minister Tim Smith for threatening to block a planning application of a UBP rebel? Who was going to punish the Minister responsible for cost overruns at the Airport, Westgate and the Incinerator? Webb: Young offenders not afraid of the birch Ms Webb said Labour Minister Quinton Edness had proposed bringing back the birch, in contravention of international law.

Who was going to punish him for such a suggestion? She said she was firmly against the birch since it would only make young men even angrier and more resentful towards authority.

Besides, she added, most young offenders were not afraid of the birch.

Ms Webb went on to vent her fury at the UBP and The Royal Gazette editorials which claimed the PLP was soft on drugs and crime.

The claim was completely without foundation, she said.

The PLP supported rehabilitation as a method of combating crime, she added.

In contrast, it was the UBP who had proved themselves soft on crime through their failed approach to the problem.

Ms Webb said there was no treatment, for instance, for sex offenders.

This meant such offenders were likely to repeat their crimes once freed from jail.

Ms Webb scorned the UBP's attempts to promote family values, saying it amounted to plagiarising of a theme in the US elections.

In fact, she said, the UBP's record was one of destroying the family.

Thirty-two years of UBP administration had resulted in unemployment for Bermudians, non-affordable housing and more and more people on welfare.

Minister of Youth Development and Recreation Tim Smith said a new spirit of community ran through the Throne Speech.

"There is a new spirit of community developing in this Country. I see it particularly among the young people.'' In contrast, the PLP and Renee Webb were promoting a spirit of malaise, Mr.

Smith said.

Mr. Smith took the PLP to task for not being specific in some of its comments in the Throne Speech reply.

He also called on the Opposition to show support for the Board of Trustees of the National Stadium.

Criticising the trustees would not encourage people to get involved in the community.

Mr. Smith said he was encouraged by the way sports programmes for the young were taking off.

"We have about 202 organisations catering to young people.'' Mr. Smith went on to say he found it "perplexing'' the PLP should be critical of proposed drug-free zones around schools.

It was baffling that the PLP should not support tougher penalties for those convicted of drug offences in areas where there were young people.

He was also "perplexed'' by the PLP's belief the planned Stalking and Domestic Violence bills would not "do much to prepare Bermudians for the challenges of the 21st Century''.

Shadow Minister of Technology and Information Walter Lister picked up on Mr.

Smith's "spirit in the community'' theme.

"What happened to that spirit in the community this summer when young people in Sandys Parish wanted to gain access to Daniel's Head beach? "If that was the new spirit of community the UBP can keep it.'' Mr. Lister said Government only relented under tremendous pressure.

"I can't see why it's so difficult to get Government to do what to us is common sense.'' Mr. Lister said the PLP felt Daniel's Head should come under Parks and Recreation, rather than the Bases Committee.

He went on to voice concern at the number of foreigners hired by restaurants.

Bermudians became frustrated at seeing foreigners walk into jobs.

Mr. Lister also questioned the success of CURE in tackling racism.

"CURE has not solved any racial problems I have seen.'' Mr. Lister ended by hammering home the importance of the Internet to schools, and he suggested MPs could benefit by having the service in the House of Assembly.

Tourism Minister David Dodwell said the Throne Speech was about Bermuda's 58,000 residents, not just Government and the Opposition.

He said there was no doubt the spotlight was on tourism.

And there was a need, he added, to harness tension and energy to improve Bermuda's tourism performance.

Mr. Dodwell said there had been a general tourism trend over the last nine to ten years which Government did not like.

But he warned: "It is not going to change unless we change.'' Mr. Dodwell said there were several tourism areas Government could control, and several it could not.

For instance, it could control attitudes, the marketing of Bermuda and the product.

But it could not control outside competition, the economic strength of countries from which it hoped to draw visitors and the perception of prices in Bermuda.

Mr. Dodwell said Bermuda was in transition because the world was moving faster and perhaps it had been moving faster than the Island was prepared to move.

Bermuda invented resort Island tourism and other countries learnt from what it did but now the Island needed to create itself as a new destination as there were countries in tourism that never were before.