Sustainable development will be the key plank of the National Liberal Party's (NLP) election platform, according to the party's vice-chairman.

Graeme Outerbridge this week confirmed that the party will field candidates for the upcoming national poll which must be called by November, 2003 but he would not say how many candidates had been lined up.

"This time, unlike other elections, we will run our candidates where we feel we have the best chance," he said. He added the NLP was gearing up for elections under the revamped single seat system currently being worked on by the Boundaries Commission.

"One of our main issues is going to be with the environment," he said. Mr. Outerbridge added that some environmental concerns had increased since the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) came into office.

"Pollution is ongoing and there are health issues such as sewage treatment," he said. He explained that the new high capacity sewage treatment facility on Front Street meant that more effluents were being pumped out to sea which would have serious ramifications for the environment.

He said his party would be advocating that Morgan's Point - which housed the former US Naval Annex - should be kept as open space.

Mr. Outerbridge said: "The ratio of development to open space is already not a good position. We need to enhance open areas rather than development them."

And the old Bermudiana Beach Club site, now a haven for vagrants and drug dealers, should be made an "addendum" to Astwood Park.

"We are going to stick to core issues. We are not going to try to cover every base because we are a small, dynamic party," Mr. Outerbridge continued.

"With Arthur Hodgson out of office the whole issue of sustainable development has been lost."

Government has lost sight of "fundamentals" like protecting the newly discovered cave system at Wilkinson quarry "where pieces of the cave have been found in a Front Street bar," Mr. Outerbridge added.

He added that he was personally disillusioned that, as Chairman of the Open Spaces Committee, new Environment Minister Dennis Lister had not yet met with him.

The Committee filed a report on environmental issues about a year ago, he said, making a number of recommendations, but "It has just disappeared into the black hole of Government", he said.

Mr. Outerbridge also proposes that Government do something to contain the growth of international business. He said that the business brings additional pressures on the Island's infrastructure which can be detrimental to locals. Some international business employees were two-car households because their accommodations often included an extra cottage on the grounds, he said. And private schools were often indebted to people employed by the sector because of large financial donations, he claimed. But that meant that the children of Bermudians were often at a disadvantage when it came to securing places.

"Who can pay the most is given access. It's an elitist system and the PLP Government is perpetuating it."

Mr. Outerbridge added that the well heeled companies wielded the "tools of power and leverage" over a number of Government departments.

"Certain work permits are not as severely scrutinised as others," he said. "It's horse trading - it's never straight across the board."

He said his party will stand out as being issue oriented and had no intention of throwing in the towel, saying: "We're not giving up. Why should we give up - because we take licks?"