received approval from both sides of the Upper House.

Government Senate leader the Hon. Gerald Simons said the paper grew out of a decision to lower the voting age to 18 some years ago.

Once that decision was made and the necessary legislation was passed, he said, Government then looked at all legislation that excluded individuals under 21.

Sen. Simons said Bermuda's youth were more sophisticated than their peers from previous generations, and many were embarking on further study upon leaving high school.

He said that since 18-year-olds could drive cars, vote and be conscripted into the Bermuda Regiment, the Government felt the country would benefit if young Bermudians were allowed greater opportunities.

Sen. Simons said the Attorney General's chambers had conducted a search and found 66 references to laws concerned with the age of majority.

With the changes, 18-year-old Bermudians would be able to marry without parental consent, buy and sell goods and drive heavy vehicles.

Sen. Simons said Government was not prepared to reduce the age from 21 to 18 when it came to health insurance, given that more Bermudians stayed dependent on their families longer as they sought education overseas.

Similarly, Sen. Simons said Government was unwilling to lower the age of persons who could run a nursery school from 21 to 18.

Opposition Senate leader Sen. Milton Scott said this was one motion that could have been passed without debate because there was such broad agreement.

He said the PLP had historically called for the reduction of the age of majority although he accepted that there was not always a perfect fusion between a person's age and their level of maturity.

Sen. Scott said he hoped Government would act quickly and get the necessary legislation through so that Bermudian 18-year-olds could be like their peers in other developed Western democracies.

Meantime Sen. Lynda Milligan-Whyte , UBP, said it was important to encourage young people to accept the responsibilities that went along with adulthood because they would now be able to enter contracts and leases, buy homes and administer trusts.

Sen. Neletha Butterfield , PLP, said that this Green Paper was a sign that Bermuda was finally adapting to the changing world.

She said young people would now be more inclined to get involved in their country's affairs.

Sen. Butterfield stressed the importance of the education system playing a greater role in the lives of 13 to 16-year-olds so that they would be ready for the adult world they would enter when they reached 18.

Sen. Yvette Swan , UBP, said she was happy to see the discussion paper but she was concerned that with the extra year planned for the new senior secondary school she wondered how 18-year-olds would mix with their younger counterparts.

Sen. Alf Oughton , Independent, said he supported the Green Paper but he said it was a pity that so much media attention was occupied with the minority of young people involved in crime.

Sen. Larry Scott , UBP, said an essential principle that the Green Paper underscored was that young people must be willing to accept both the benefits and the burdens of the proposed changes.

Sen. Terry Lister , PLP, said he supported Government's decision not to lower to 18 the age that a person could run a nursery school because this was in line with teachers being at least 21 before they could teach in a classroom.

Sen. Lister said he was worried about young people in foster care who were left in no man's land after they reached 18. He also called on Government to increase the drinking age from 18 to 21.

Independent Senator Dr. Norma Astwood said she was concerned about the number of young people who were unable to function successfully in the adult world although their problems were not brought before the courts.

She said that these young people were unable to manage their own affairs, look after themselves or handle stress. Sen. Astwood said that further education did not necessarily prepare young Bermudians for adulthood because many had not achieved emotional independence from their parents. She said this problem often manifested itself in the form of procrastination and it was important not to overprotect young people.