before June 29, and who have not repeated the offence since then, to get their licences back by year end.

The Traffic Offences (Penalties) Amendment Amendment Act 1993 was the first piece of legislation to come up in the Lower House since the post-election session began.

And while all MPs supported the bill -- some calling it an "wonderful Christmas present'' -- the Opposition made it clear that they were not happy to have the bill "rushed'' through the House.

Shadow Youth Minister Mr. Dennis Lister said the Opposition would not object to the passing of the bill because it did not want to bring more hardship on its beneficiaries.

But, he stressed, Government should have tabled the bill earlier so that it could have been properly debated yesterday.

Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess explained that Government was changing the amended Act because while it granted amnesty to those who were repeatedly banned from driving, it did not include those with a single driving offence.

"It was only right, reasonable, and fair to include these persons,'' he said.

But Mr. Lister argued that concerns were raised when The Traffic Offences (Penalties) Amendment Act was before the House.

"This shows a clear unreadiness of this Government to deal with legislation effecting the people of Bermuda,'' he said.

"We spent five sessions on the Throne Speech, instead of dealing with this.

Had Government been prepared to deal with legislation correctly, we would not have to be here correcting this.'' Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade echoed Mr. Lister's concerns, calling Government's handling of the Act "sloppy''.

He also asked whether there was a list of everyone entitled to have their licences returned and if the list had been circulated to the necessary people, particularly the Police and the Transport Control Department.

"If they (Police and TCD) are not aware of this, we could have problems,'' Mr. Wade warned. "It is very important that Police and TCD be informed of this list.'' He also asked Mr. Burgess to disclose the number of people who are eligible to have their licences returned under the Act.

Coming to his colleague's defence, Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness said Mr. Burgess should be complimented for getting the bill back to the House "as quickly as he could''.

"This (bill) is not due to incompetence,'' he said. "This is a result of recognising an honest mistake.'' But Shadow Minister of Delegated and Legislative Affairs Mrs. Lois Browne Evans said this was not the first time that Government had rushed legislation through the House, only to have to have it amended.

She said it was unfair to those drafting the legislation and the public.

"The draftspeople can only do so much,'' she said. "They require time and lots of proofreading to study and ensure there are no nuances that leave loopholes that skillful lawyers would use in court.'' "They (Government MPs ) should be red faced and ashamed when people know we wasted time to bring a bill and amend it all within a year.'' And she urged Government to have its legislation programme outlined for the next session.

She noted that she had received calls from two constituents who said they did not understand how any law could be drafted to exonerate those convicted of driving while disqualified several times and not excuse those who have been convicted once.

But Minister of Delegated and Legislative Affairs the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto hit back at Mrs. Browne Evans for saying Government did not have a legislation programme.

She referred Mrs. Browne Evans to page seven of the Throne Speech, which lists a number of bills the House is expected to consider in the coming year.

And UBP MP the Hon. Harry Soares said the Transport Minister was simply "fine tuning some legislation'' by bringing The Traffic Offences (Penalties) Amendment Amendment Act 1993.

"What this is is a wonderful Christmas present to so many of our fine citizens,'' he said, adding that just because people are taken off the road does not mean they are "bad people''.

Analysing the comments, Government MP Mr. David Dyer said: "This appears to be a question of damned if you do and damned if you don't''.

He said when Government saw any injustice, it tried to move swiftly to correct it.

He said MPs and the public should also remember that the House "has only been in session six weeks''.

Mr. Dyer said he thought the swift correction was admirable.

And Information Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill agreed.

He noted that Judge Tumim specifically dealt with injustices and potential injustices of consecutive periods of disqualification in his report.

So, he said, it was not surprising that the original bill focused on that.

After Government sought community involvement, it brought the bill back to the House to be amended, he added.

"This issue is concerned about fairness,'' Mr. Dill stressed. "It should be above party politics. It is totally unproductive to try to score cheap political points on something like this.'' But PLP MP Mr. Walter Lister said if Government had not put "the penalty on the books in the first place'' there would not have been a need to correct it.

"The young people in this country know exactly what the situation is,'' he added.

Mr. Lister said another law that needs to be appealed is the one prohibiting a person to drive another's car without a member of the family in the car.

"Don't wait for Tumim,'' he told Government MPs. "You have to take some ideas from the Progressive Labour Party and implement them.

"It's only a matter of common sense. The law says you may only use this (another) car if you have a member of the family in the car, even if that member is a baby. It is sheer stupidity. Let's use some common sense. Let's repeal this law so it can give young people the opportunity.'' Mr. Lister also noted that there was no such law in other jurisdictions, including "the mother country''.

Responding to comments, Mr. Burgess stressed that nothing was wrong with the first bill.

"But not withstanding,'' he said, "Government went away and listened to the people of the country and asked how much fairer can we make it (the law), hence we have the bill today.'' Mr. Burgess also said a committee, including representatives of the Police, TCD, Magistrates' Court, and Management Services, had been set up to compile a list of names of those who are eligible to have their licences restored under the law.

He said, as a result of the bill, some 900 people who had consecutive disqualified driving offences and 300 with a single driving while disqualified offence would get their licences back.

Mr. Burgess also urged those people to pick up their licences from TCD after December 28 and carry the licences with them at all times to avoid any misunderstanding.