countries, meeting with senior government officials in two of them and attending a major international conference in a third.

When the leader returns, no information on the trip is released for a week.

Then a statement on the trip is given to the legislature, but it reads more like an itinerary-cum-social diary than a report of the matters and issues discussed.

When members of the media approach the leader, they are told that all the information that will be made public is in the statement and that's that.

This is what has happened in Bermuda. Premier Jennifer Smith went abroad and held meetings in Toronto and London and led possibly the largest delegation ever from Bermuda to a meeting of the International Labour Organisation in Geneva.

Ms Smith gave a speech on May 31 to the Canadian Club as its guest of honour.

She later met with the Director General of the Consular Affairs Bureau of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. Repeated attempts to get a copy of the speech were unsuccessful until it was tabled in the House of Assembly on June 18.

And Ms Smith would only say of her meeting with the Director General that Bermuda and Canada's good relationship would continue and would be enhanced by Canada's "stated intention'' to appoint an Honorary Consul. Nothing was said about Bermuda's reported refusal to accept lawyer Saul Froomkin.

Ms Smith described a series of social engagements in Geneva and revealed the delegation had attended seminars on maternity leave, gender neutrality and opportunity.

In London, along with Ms Cox and chief of staff Sen. David Burch, Ms Smith met with Foreign Office Minister Baroness Symons "in which various matters pertaining to Bermuda were discussed'', including the fact that Bermuda will attend Overseas Territories conferences over the next few months. Ms Smith is certain "a clearer understanding will result from the information exchanged with the British foreign office; labour relations in Bermuda will be strengthened by the bonds formed among the delegation to the ILO Conference; and Bermuda's tourism industry and our close relationship with Canada will benefit as a result of these visits''.

The public will have to take Ms Smith's word for it since no more information will be forthcoming.

A country's leaders have to travel, and this is more important now than ever before since Bermuda has a new government which needs to build its own ties with leaders of friendly countries abroad. These ties can be developed at meetings and social engagements; it is understandable if not all of the details of the meetings are made public.

It is also understandable that some diplomatic matters are kept quiet -- there are times when making discussions public, especially on an evolving issue like the White Paper, can do more harm than good.

And it makes sense that the leader of a labour government should attend the first ILO conference since the party took power.

But the public is also entitled to know what areas are of concern to the Government and to have some sense of what work is being done -- especially on matters of national importance like the UK White Paper.

Some time ago, Ms Smith said she planned to communicate directly with the public through the House of Assembly and to bypass the media. She is entitled to do that if she wishes, even if it is a risky strategy.

But the public -- whom both the Government and the media serve -- deserve better than the statement delivered on Friday.