benefit the industry, Premier Pamela Gordon told the House of Assembly yesterday.

Former Environment Minister Ms Gordon, introducing the second reading of the Building Amendment Act 1997 for current Minister Irving Pearman , said the bill would enable the Ministry to alter building regulations without the approval of the House of Assembly.

"With the process of coming to the House, the time delay is so long that you can frustrate the process for people who are in the building area,'' she said.

"This will enable the Minister to bring new and updated building regulations in a timely manner and it will make sure the Ministry will be more user-friendly.

"When I was Minister, one of our concerns was to satisfy the needs of the consumer.'' Shadow Environment Minister Leon (Jimmy) Williams said he understood that the legislation would mean building matters would not go to the House but direct to the Minister.

He added that accountability was "the name of the game'' and he supported Ministers being more accountable.