The following continues Friday night's coverage of the Opposition's reply to the Throne Speech from the House of Assembly

United Bermuda Party Whip Maxwell Burgess said it was "criminal" for working class people to be forced to pay more for Bermuda Housing Corporation apartments at the Perryville complex in Warwick because the contractors had been massively overpaid due to "gross mismanagement".

Referring to reports that the homes had been built for twice what 'experts' said they should, he said it was "nonsense" to suggest, as one excuse that was offered, that original costs didn't factor in waste facilities or roads and street lighting. "Where they going to come in on helicopters?" he asked.

"Someone has dropped the ball and until someone acknowledges that fact, we are misleading ourselves and misleading the public. It cannot go on, this recklessly mismanaging housing and letting poor people pick up the tab.

"You ask what will the UBP do? We'll get a contract and that's what it will be built for. You can't double price and pass it on to the poor. It can't be right to ask poor people to pay more. It's wrong, I know its wrong, and any right thinking Bermudian would come to that conclusion."

He said these apartments could have been sold for $100,000 less if the cost hadn't swollen outrageously. It was "nothing short of criminal" to force people to pay more on 30 year mortgages because it had been so badly managed.

"And you can't try to make people believe it is a human error. If the UBP had been involved in this they would have been nailed to the cross. Good Friday would have come early - and rightly so.

"I am sick and tired of people saying to me 'you did it for 30 years'. People did not elect the PLP to outdo what they thought the UBP was doing. They didn't put that in the Throne Speech."

Mr. Burgess was asked about money he made from a steel contract at the airport when he was a minister.

He said Government gave a building contract to Burland, Conyers and Marirea, who chose Bermuda Steel Erectors, a company in which Mr. Burgess had an interest, for the steel. BSE was run by Mr. Burgess's cousin.

"BCM had the right to give the contract to Bermuda Steel Erectors because they were the best. The steel went up on time, on price, and on budget.

"I don't recall the (white) contractor saying to my (black) cousin 'you can get the contract because you look like me'," said Mr. Burgess.

Returning to the BHC scandal, he said rather than make the 12 new homeowners at the Perryville complex pay more, the Government should spread the burden among all taxpayers.

"They (the 12) should not be made to pay for money that should not have been spent. That's the criminal act."

The UBP realised it had made a mistake in closing down Bermuda Tech, so it planned to re-open it if it was returned to power.

Referring to the spate of labour disputes under the PLP, Mr. Burgess said it was nothing to do with - as the PLP alleged - people being more free and confident about protesting.

"If people were treated more fairly 'round the table, there would be no reason to march. The reason is, they feel betrayed."

He asked why Government was talking about a code of ethics for sportsmen "while everyone runs wild west around here".

He claimed the National Drugs Commission was "falling apart" because members of the organisation questioned whether government was serious about tackling drug abuse.

The UBP would ensure whistle-blowers were protected and a freedom of information act was introduced.

The UBP would also return the role of the Attorney General to that of a non-political appointment to reassure members of the public who perceived there was political interference in the justice system.

"If people perceive the offices of the AG are not as fair as they could be, it creates problems. I can't say there isn't that sense out there. We can't have the appearance or outright interference of politics in these matters."

He said people he had spoken to were worried they would not get guaranteed access to government contracts and the UBP would introduce open bidding so everyone could see the process was fair and above board.

Government backbencher Derrick Burgess said it was right to ask international business to contribute towards the cost of affordable housing because of the amount of money that sector makes from the Island.

The Hotel Concessions Act had helped improve the infrastructure of hotels. There were "good people" working in tourism and in taxis, buses and customs, but there could be improvements.

Hotels were improving because owners were optimistic and because the PLP was a good government, he said.

One reason for the tourism slide was the September 11 terrorist attacks and world tourism authorities were now predicting the recovery would be later than the original projection of 2003.

He said the UBP's reply to the Throne Speech with its talk of "serving the many not the select few" should be called the "First Book of UBP Confessions".

If they really believed in all this, they would have to pay back the workers because "these rich boys got rich on the backs of labour. They have no gold or oil or silver."

He said if they were so sincere they should give workers a ten percent pay rise for ten years to allow the money gap to narrow.

"The UBP are confessing to things they done wrong but they are not prepared to make it right," said Mr. Burgess, the president of the Bermuda Industrial Union.

He said Labour Minister Terry Lister had effectively re-opened Bermuda Tech through the National Training Board and it was working better than Bermuda Tech ever did.

PLP MP Delaey Robinson said the Opposition needed some perspective while criticising. Bermuda, relatively, had no serious poverty or crime problems and was not at war.

Although it had social problems as the legacy of slavery, "on this planet, this is paradise".

The PLP had not shied away from social problems and he claimed Government had made a great success of tackling housing.

"Housing has been one of the shining jewels in the crown of the PLP government. If I was the Opposition, I would attack (us on) housing because housing has been such a success," said Mr. Robinson.

The UBP had produced only 19 houses in its last ten years and "sold off the housing stock," yet the PLP had created more than 100 in four years.

"If the Opposition was so good at it, they would recognise cyclical events in house and cyclical needs of affordable housing. They would have to attack us on housing because we are so good at it."

In an oblique reference to the BHC scandal, he said with any institution there may be skeletons in the closet and "there may be skeletons that need to be flushed out".

He added: "BHC and the Government have been successful in producing housing"

Answering Opposition complaints that there was nothing in the Throne Speech on housing, he said it was "politics 101" that there was no mention because there was no housing legislation coming up in the coming year.

Government's 'Alternatives to Incarceration' programme also ranked with housing at the top of the PLP success list, and reducing class sizes in schools had also been a great achievement.

Accusing the UBP of being vague when talking about education "one student at a time," he said that sounded like reducing class sizes, which the PLP had achieved.

Mr. Robinson said the UBP solved social problems when it was in power through bricks and mortar, either by building it up or knocking it down.

And he criticised the Opposition for urging Government to do more about drug interdiction, and said just a few years' ago Police Commissioner Colin Coxall had to leave the Island because drug investigations took Police too close to someone in the UBP.

He said: "I don't think a leopard can change its spots that easily. A leopard is still a leopard and the UBP is still the UBP."

Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell applauded Minister Renee Webb for admitting that tourism was in a poor state, but said, in his opinion, it needed to be knocked down and totally rebuilt.

He asked whether people really felt better off than they were four years ago, and said he believed they did not.

But Mr. Dodwell, while complimenting Ms Webb's honesty, said he was disappointed with the importance given to tourism in the Throne Speech, and said it had failed to give solutions.

The Shadow Minister said Bermuda did not need to be rebranded, as planned by Government in January, and said the whole industry had to be overhauled.

He criticised the fall in air arrivals, and said Government needed to be aggressive if it was to attract new airlines and cheaper fares to Bermuda.

And said the decline in tourism was down to mismanagement and poor policies during the last four years.

Mr. Dodwell said $100,000 a day had been spent by Government on tourism, and $145 million over the last four years, although the economy had lost $243 million in that time.

He said: "I hope this Minister is not going to be a master strategist. This is not a department for one person. It's not a job for a master strategist. We all have a part to play."

Mr. Dodwell said if the UBP were in power there would be two ministries; a ministry of finance and a ministry of tourism and economic development.

He said they would each have different roles. One would be there to attract new capital to the Island to enable Bermuda to be more competitive, and the other would look at innovative development ideas.

He said capital was a huge issue, but it was not being given attention in Bermuda, and therefore other countries were stealing away visitors because they had fresh ideas and fresh, state of the art, facilities.

Mr. Dodwell said the red tape also put investors off from ploughing their money into Bermuda's holiday economy. Instead, he said, they choose to take it elsewhere.

He said: "I think we are very close to having to start all over again. We need vision and there needs to be a plan developed. I didn't hear from the Minister that she was putting a plan together. We need an airlift strategy.... Tourism must be a private/public partnership."

Mr. Dodwell said the Minister had announced a new marketing campaign, but said marketing would not solve Bermuda's woes. And he said separating service from the product was ludicrous because service was the product.

Mr. Dodwell said although some hotels had applied for relief from the Hotel Concession's Act, sources told him that nobody had yet received a penny, and said he believed major renovations carried out on hotels in recent years had been the result of relief and concessions from the former Government.

He admitted that a mistake had been made in closing Bermuda Tech, but said the new UBP had been honest and had held its hands up and felt it ought to be re-opened.

But he also said current members of the UBP should not be constantly blamed for past wrongdoings.

"We have new people. We have this rich mix, and therefore, in my view, we do recognise that we have changed and we are ready to govern again."

Minister for Labour and Home Affairs Terry Lister said he believed people did feel safer and better off now, than they did four years ago, and he said the PLP had proved the Opposition wrong because international business had not taken flight and the country had stayed buoyant.

Mr. Lister said the PLP had brought additional Police officers into the Island from overseas, and they would be replaced next year when their contracts were complete.

He also said most crime was consistently falling.

However, he said: "The number of cycle thefts is so high, it's destroying our figures."

He said violent crime was down, although the fear of crime may have increased because crime is given greater publicity in the media.

"We cannot stop every crime, but I believe we are doing a good job at getting the people responsible for crime. This is through our networking systems and information systems," said the Minister.

However, he said one of the greatest problems was violence among young people and that had to stop, as did the use of drugs.

"The desire to fight really has got to go away. People have to be happy to come out, hang out with their friends, have a good time and then go home."

On drug interdiction, Mr. Lister said a huge amount of drugs had been seized so far this year ($40 million), but it was impossible to know how many drugs were managing to get through.

"We are making attacks on the crack houses. We are making attacks on the clubs. We don't want to play it down. We have to destroy this (drug) phenomenon. The goal has to be eradicating demand. We have to start with young people and convince them that this is not the life that they want."

But Mr. Lister said he wanted to avoid busting a group of 15 teenagers and hauling them before the courts because they had just very small amounts of drugs on them.

He said that would just lead them into a life of crime and unemployment. But he said they should be warned, and before too long the serious criminals among the group would come to fore on their own.

On the issue of prisons, Mr. Lister said steps had been taken to improve rehabilitation courses, along with technical and academic classes, and he said they would be beefed up further.

"People should be able to leave our facilities with skills," he said.

The Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister also said sex offender and anger management courses either didn't exist or didn't work when the PLP came to power.

He said he congratulated his Immigration staff recently for not getting on the front page because they were doing their job well.

Work permit turnaround was getting better and Government wanted to ensure that every foreign worker brought in was excellent.

Government met regularly with the private sector, which has proved fruitful, as both sides recognised the other's concerns.

Government would be amending the Employment Act in the coming year to tackle "golden handshakes" for executives.

In the Enron era, it was worrying that if a company went bust, a fortune would be paid first to executives in a "golden parachute" before ordinary staff received money. "That doesn't make sense and we will tackle that," said Mr. Lister.

Everyone, including employers, was now involved in Labour Day celebrations which showed positive partnerships which augured well for Bermuda in the future.

He advised the UBP to "stop digging" itself out of the hole it made with its promise to restore Bermuda Tech because the National Training Board was working well.

The PLP had not shied away from tricky issues such as immigration and the future of long term residents.

The PLP had been elected with high expectations which people expected to be delivered overnight. They could not be delivered overnight, but he was proud of the progress Government shown in four years of power.

Shadow Telecommunications Minister Allan Marshall questioned why the Throne Speech was delivered in a green folder when the colours of Bermuda were blue and red, and suggested the PLP was blurring the lines between politics and government.

The proposed parental responsibility act was a UBP suggestion, he said, as was including gender and nationality in the CURE reporting.

The UBP would link schools to sports clubs to ensure the survival of clubs and provide after school facilities for pupils.

Government education policies lacked any "meat" and were redolent of failed sixties rhetoric, he said.

More than 200 new civil service jobs had been created under the PLP, yet small business did not merit a mention in last two Throne Speeches.

Small businesses were facing tough challenges with Bermuda Credit Union noting bad debt collections of $4 million this year.

Research showed 488 families a year would be affected by broken marriages or single parenthood, he said, and if only ten percent needed accommodation, that amounted to 48 new families needing housing each year in Bermuda.

In e-commerce/commerce, Government had failed in its goal of attracting Fortune 500 companies to the Island, with less than ten coming to the Island.

Government backbencher Stanley Morton said Rome wasn't built in a day and Government deserved another chance "to redeem ourselves if it appears we have faltered or fallen by the way".

The Opposition's Trevor Moniz labelled Government's Throne Speech "scanty and relatively thin" and said it had contained nothing more than housekeeping matters for the coming year.

He said as Shadow Transport Minister, he was disappointed there had been no mention of transport in the document, and no mention of any kind of transport plan.

But he said he was glad to hear that Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown had chosen to buy smaller new fast ferries, instead of extra large ones, like the ones already on the Island now.

Dr. Brown said the smaller ferries would be used on shorter runs, leaving the two large ones to be used on longer journeys, where speed restrictions did not apply.

Mr. Moniz said the larger ferries were far too big for the demand, and so were under utilised, and were not suitable for the size of the Island.

And Mr. Moniz referred to the ferry worker strike last Thursday, when staff walked off the job for the day over disquiet over a new weekend schedule, of which they had not been consulted, claiming it was "quite right, too."

He said the Minister had accused the ferry workers of "kindergarten tactics", but suggested that perhaps the Minister should have spoken to the workers before changing their working patterns.

And referring to the amount of Government capital projects on the go at present, Mr. Moniz said he believed the delay of the new Berkeley site, and the amount of other projects, would cause a backlog.

As a result, he said he believed the long-awaited and promised new court building would be a long way off completion.

Minister for the Environment Dennis Lister read through legislation set to be introduced this year to greater protect native species, and Bermuda's National Parks, particularly coastal habitats.

And he said legislation was also to be introduced to improve standards and guidelines in commercial horses stables.

The Opposition's official spokesman and backbencher Jamahl Simmons praised Government for its overall record on the environment, but questioned whether or not the Ministry of Works and Engineering was now meeting standards at the waste management facility at the airport, and asked when the asbestos report for the Southside housing development, involving Government backbencher Arthur Pitcher, would be released.

He then criticised the Throne Speech for failing to mention housing, and said Government had to concentrate on that issue.

He said even people with decent jobs could not afford rents and said starter homes were an outrageous $300,000 to $600,000.

"Housing should have been at the top of the list on this Throne Speech," he said.

Government backbencher Reginald Burrows looked back at the 1983 UBP Throne Speech, which stated that a year later, ground would be broken on the National Stadium.

However, he said the facility was still unfinished when the PLP came into power, and until very recently.

He credited Government with making sure progress was at last made.

And on the issue of housing, he said no matter who was in power, there would always be people who were looking for homes, or living on the streets. Some people, he said, chose to live on the streets and chose to live in tents.

And Mr. Burrows said, although he liked all groups of people, he had noticed over the years how white people never joined black groups, while black people did join white groups.

He said if Bermuda was to become one, that needed to change.

He said white people would not even use the same undertakers or churches as black people.

"Whites do not feel they want to patronise blacks," he said. "But the blacks have no problem with that (patronising whites)."

And he added: "The PLP is not anti-white, but we are more pro-black."

Government Minister without Portfolio Neletha Butterfield referred to the UBP's proposals for specialists in schools, but said they were already there.

And she said she believed young people were already beginning to take huge strides in education.

But she said parents had to be involved in their children's education, and praised Government's planned legislation to make parents more responsible.

She said: "Parents are the primary teachers of their children, and teachers are supplementary."