Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb yesterday called the Opposition's call for a Constitutional Conference a "red herring'' and a "waste of time and money''.

Ms Webb was responding to Opposition Leader Pamela Gordon's call on Monday for a tripartite hearing on the issue of constituency boundary changes.

Last Friday, Premier Jennifer Smith tabled a proposal to abandon the use of Parish boundaries to set electoral boundaries and reduce the size of Parliament.

Also on the cards is a change allowing a Bermudian who has taken citizenship in another country to sit in Parliament -- if elected.

"I think a Constitutional Conference is a waste of time and money,'' Ms Webb said. "It is all just a red herring.

"The point is we support single seat constituencies -- that was the PLP in opposition and that's the position of the PLP Government,'' Ms Webb explained.

"And we support people having dual citizenship. The fact is that I'm Bermudian, I'm loyal to Bermuda. It doesn't matter how many passports I carry.

"There is nothing new in this proposal. The PLP has always supported the principle of one man one vote, each vote of equal value.'' Ms Webb said no other country in the world has dual seat constituencies and changing the Constitution was the "much more modern approach''.

She said the Boundaries Commission was the correct body for deciding both the size and shape of the constituencies and the size of Parliament.

"The Commission makes changes (to constituencies) all the time,'' Ms Webb explained. "They've made changes with the Constituency boundary size in the past. The Commission has a mandate and that mandate is granted by the British Government. It's an independent body.'' Ms Webb added that Ms Gordon was correct that the changes would have to be approved by the British Government but with representations in London by the Bermuda Government they would be approved.

Webb hits back Explaining her attempts to change the constitution on the "Ewart Brown clause'', Ms Webb said: "It would be the will of the British Government that changes like this, short of international legal status changes, are made.

"When it comes to items in the constitution there was always the possibility of looking at individual clauses, there was always the option of what the Premier did.'' Ms Webb said the origins of the clause were rooted in British uneasiness during the Cold War about possible Soviet influence.

"But we are now talking about year 2000. By removing it we're getting in line with the UK,'' she added. "The option of getting rid of it has always been open to us.

"It is nonsense that we can't do this. The option is always there, we're simply using it. As it is, there is no such clause in the British laws that one cannot be made a citizen of another country and sit in Parliament.'' She added: "If a UK citizen becomes an American, they can still serve in Parliament. In actual fact the UK already has MPs of other nationalities.

"We're trying to move Bermuda forward in having a much more modern approach like that.'' "You can put down a motion on the floor of the House, which I did for Section 30 (the Ewart Brown clause) a few years ago,'' Ms Webb concluded.

A story in Wednesday's newspaper incorrectly stated that Dr. Brown had been forced to give up his US citizenship before the last General Election. Dr.

Brown gave up his citizenship voluntarily.