George Orwell famously coined the phrase newspeak in his novel "1984", to describe how statements made by governments usually meant the reverse of what was said.

Thus, in the novel, the Ministry of Peace was actually the Ministry of War and so on.

Orwell's novel deals with a totalitarian state that was attempting to control all thought, but anyone who reads the book can see how any government or institution can adopt the same kind of reverse language to soften the impact of problems or mislead. "Downsizing" sounds so much nicer than firing, doesn't it?

One of the media's functions is to identify newspeak or jargon when it occurs and to translate it into straight talk so the public will know the truth, separate from the spin or newspeak that is used to massage it.

A rather classic example of this has happened here since the Budget Statement was read on Friday. During the recent General Election campaign, the Progressive Labour Party promised to make public transport free. That promise was about as direct as an election promise gets. Many people were surprised that it was not mentioned in the Throne Speech and was not introduced for this year in the Budget.

So naturally, the media asked about it at the press conference after the Budget. Premier Dr. Ewart Brown explained that work needed to be done to ensure there was sufficient capacity to handle the expected increase in passengers. That was fair enough, even if that particular spending requirement was not mentioned in the campaign.

But sharp-eyed residents, the Association of Bermuda International Companies, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, and journalists picked up on Ms Cox's actual phrasing in the Budget Statement, which was a promise to provide "free bus and ferry fares for Bermudians on a phased basis" over time.

Ms Cox did not say Bermuda residents. She did not say Bermudians, expatriates and visitors. She said Bermudians. And that begged the question of what she meant. Did she really mean only Bermudians will get free public transport?

This newspaper put that question to the Premier's Press Secretary, Glenn Jones, on Monday. Mr. Jones replied that "the planning to deliver free transport is a work in progress", which did not answer the question.

The Royal Gazette published the story, and included comments from some Internet blogs and chat groups, which gave a flavour of public thinking on the issue, most of it negative.

That sparked a second statement from Mr. Jones, which while still failing to answer the question, claimed that The Royal Gazette's story was based on "speculation" and the "blogosphere", which he said were not reliable sources. And thus, The Royal Gazette was being irresponsible. As it happens, the need for "the responsible exercise of freedom of the press" was one of the justifications for the Press Council announced in the Throne Speech.

But the story was not irresponsible and it was not based on "speculation" or the "blogosphere". It was based on Ms Cox's own words and Mr. Jones' refusal to answer whether or not there were plans to offer free public transport only to Bermudians, or even if this was an option that was being considered.

It is Mr. Jones and the Cabinet Office for whom he works who are being irresponsible in deliberately taking parts of a story out of context in order to discredit legitimate and fair reporting. He, and the Premier to whom he directly reports, owe this newspaper and the public an apology. And while they're at it, they could answer the question.