Government’s policy on sustainable development came under attack at Friday’s Budget debate in the Senate.

United Bermuda Party Senator E.T. (Bob) Richards said that by ploughing cash into creating new teams to tackle sustainable development, Government could make the issue worse.

“I found this to be quite ironic,” said Sen. Richards. “In doing so we increase the growth of Government, which itself seems to be unsustainable.

“Government is up 23 percent over two years — that can’t be sustainable. We have got a Government that’s burgeoning too fast. It’s getting bigger.”

Sen. Richards added that sustainable development was also an issue in the construction industry and with the Bermudian dollar.

He also criticised the removal of environmentalist Stuart Hayward from the Sustainable Development Round Table.

Earlier, while reading his brief on the Cabinet Office, Senator David Burch had explained sustainable development analysts would be working closely with Government to monitor its commitment to sustainable development strategies.

Sen. Burch said: “Thoughtful and realistic sustainable development requires us to change our way of thinking, to be consistently mindful of the implications of every decision we make.”