You can run but you can't hide. That is Patricia Gordon-Pamplin's message to Government Minister Terry Lister.

He was moved to Works and Engineering from Home Affairs last week and yesterday Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin, 53, followed suit in the shadow role.

And the two MPs have made similar noises about their moves.

Both enjoyed Home Affairs but stressed that with the delayed Berkeley school project at the fore, Works and Engineering is not an easy ride and showed their leader believed they could handle tough challenges.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said: “Clearly Berkeley Institute is a major challenge within that ministry. We have unexplored information which needs to be brought to the public which has been suppressed.

“I intend to dogmatically pursue it.”

Mrs. Pamplin-Gordon said she believed Mr. Lister had found her a handful in their previous role as sparring partners.

“He will find me equally tenacious and dogmatic in pursuing information that needs to be brought to the attention of the public. He hasn't been able to escape me.”

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said new Premier Alex Scott had “absconded” from his former job at Works and Engineering leaving “a hornet's nest”.

“The issue of the Berkeley Institute is still there as a festering sore.”

Also under her microscope is the issue of the BIU-issued performance bond (financial guarantee) which Auditor General Larry Dennis raised concerns about in his report on the project.

“As an accountant it is difficult for me to accept the information which has been given and I don't intend to rest by accepting what the former minister gave as an explanation,” said Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin. “It defies logic.”

New shadow Education spokesman Neville Darrell has called for Government red-tape to be cut and performance related contracts introduced for school principals.

He said education was overly bureaucratic and decision making needed to flow to individual schools away from Government

“Whether that means breaking up Point Finger Road (the Education Ministry) entirely or whether simply making it smaller and redistributing the resources of Point Finger Road out to the schools.”

He called for principals to be held accountable to clearly defined international standards while children needed more support, including the remedial side.

“We need to manage our organisations in large measure like private organisations.

“You put in place performance contracts, you clearly define what are the performance expectations that are there, the deliverables at the end of the year.

“How it is going to be measured, who is going to measure it, then you talk about compensation schedules? You talk about professional development schedules for the school and the principal. It can be done very easily.

“It becomes an incentive system as opposed to punitive measures you hold over the school.”

The 55-year-old said principals in his school days were more high profile and closely associated with how their school performed.

With years of experience working with youth, Mr. Neville Darrell seems a good fit for the education portfolio.

He said: “I have worked with young people in the criminal justice settings, in community education, I have been a very active parent myself and sat on boards. I have been very much a part of the education word.”

Newly-elected MP Jon Brunson has been given the Youth and Sport role before he's even had the chance to sit in the House.

But Mr. Brunson already has a background and key interest in both matters although he recognises he had a lot to digest before he starts to formulate policy.

“I have always been very active in athletics and sports. Right now it is a learning exercise. It's a ministry where you need to really devote the time and energy to understanding the issues in depth.

“From that point the ideas work forward from there.”

He said Bermuda needed to recognise that not all youths can be academics but there were opportunities for sports scholarships in America.

“Sport can be an outlet to teach kids the fundamentals to aspire to other things.

“It also teaches them the necessary skills to be good citizens and work at future development from a sports angle as well as an academic angle to aspire their education abroad.”

Sport also helped develop balanced young people and ward off illnesses such as diabetes which is a big problem in Bermuda.

“With diabetes it's known athletics certainly helps in that regard. But it is also proven that athletics helps a student's all-round performance.”

Sport still plays an important role in Mr. Brunson's life.

The 41-year-old, who works at Orbis Investment Management, played football for Port Royal and commercial football with KPMG and still plays softball, does athletics and plays hockey with the Upstarts.

The Community Affairs and Seniors portfolio has been tailor-made for Louise Jackson.

With an MBE from the Queen for her contribution to Bermuda arts and research on the Gombeys, the founder of the Jackson School of Performing Arts is well able to speak on Community Affairs.

And the 72-year-old said she was well aware of the problems faced by seniors.

Mrs. Jackson said: “During my many weeks of canvassing I became alarmed and then very distressed about our seniors.

“They have many, many problems that need to be addressed.

“Our seniors are still suffering, they really need help, not just medical help but with housing and insurance.

“They want to live with dignity. They are not being allowed to do this.”

She again criticised Government's lack of funding for seniors, saying the $1,000 help for prescription drugs was totally inadequate as the average pensioner was spending $300 a month on medication.

Other policies include a dedicated seniors clinic and free prescription drugs and eyeglasses for needy seniors.

“I am very thrilled with cultural affairs. I have devoted over 50 years to the culture of Bermuda. The Gombeys, the performing arts - I love it and want to do everything that I can to promote that.”

She said she believed Bermuda had the largest per capita amount of people dedicated to the arts in the world.

“I think they need a national centre and the arts, in each discipline, need a national body to coordinate the talents. I am very concerned that the average child is not exposed to the arts.

“Schools do not have the teachers in the arts, the music teachers, dance teachers and fine arts teachers they used to have years ago. They have been cut back drastically.

“The thing that really disturbs me is that a child who can't afford dance lessons, art lessons or music lessons - that talent is lost. There's nowhere they can go.”

She admitted schools gave scholarships for this but they couldn't reach the masses.

The founder and director of the National Dance Theatre of Bermuda called for a cultural hall of fame along the same lines of the sports hall of fame which is being created.

“I am still concerned that Bermudians who have achieved in the arts be recognised.

“Sports are given a huge budget and the arts have this minuscule amount of money but there are people - children and adults - who are not interested in sport, they are interested in the arts but they are practically completely ignored.”