Bermudians should not take their rights for granted and must continue to press for access to information legislation, former Premier Alex Scott said last night.

Mr. Scott — a supporter of The Royal Gazette's A Right To Know: Giving People Power campaign — said it was vital that the country keeps talking about the need for freedom of information until it becomes the people's right.

"We don't miss our freedom until we lose it," said Mr. Scott, adding that sunshine laws and a more transparent government would affect every Bermudian for the better.

The Government backbencher, who promised a public access to information (PATI) law in 2003, said the sooner a bill was put before Parliament the better, because once passed it would be a "Herculean task" to implement it.

"The research indicated that it was going to be not a matter of weeks or months but years before we could have a streamlined system," he said.

"The Government getting the legislation before us can't come too soon. We don't want too much time to lapse for something this important. Once we have the legislative practicalities in hand then we have to take another deep breath and get the machinery operating and operational."

Mr. Scott's comments come as this newspaper celebrates Sunshine Week for the second year running and invites our readers to "Be A Hero" and fill in our online form with your views on PATI and your experiences of trying to access information held by publicly funded bodies.

We're also asking you to share with us the questions you want answered by the Government and other bodies you pay for with your taxes.

Our A Right To Know campaign — launched in January 2008 — calls for the Island to get a PATI law as soon as possible and for taxpayer-funded organisations, quangos and parliamentary committees to open up their meetings to the public.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Kim Wilson revealed that a first draft of a PATI bill was complete and a version would go before Cabinet before a public consultation this year.

PLP politician Mr. Scott said getting feedback from taxpayers on the proposed legislation was key. "We — we being the Government — obviously wish to get it right the first time," he said.

"This is something that will pay dividends in the years to come. In actual fact, we will handicap both our community and our Government if we don't proceed.

"Our ability to manage the information at our disposal is going to be as important as how we manage our financial resources."

Mr. Scott said a freedom of information law would "affect every Bermudian and, probably more so than ever before, young Bermudians".

He added that young people expected to be able to access the information they needed and were entitled to obtain it and that would soon extend to the archives of Government.

"There will be nothing more tumultuous than a young population reaching their middle ages, their twenties and thirties, and not being able to avail themselves of any and all information they seek."

• To fill in our Be A Hero form visit www.theroyalgazette.com and click on the icon on the top right-hand side of the page.

• To share the questions you — as a taxpayer — want answering by Government email arighttoknow@royalgazette.bm.

• Turn to page four to read why Opposition MP John Barritt thinks it's so important that the public get access to parliamentary committee meetings.