MPs will have the right to invite the public into their committee meetings following a change in House of Assembly rules given the provisional go-ahead yesterday.

It means groups like the Public Accounts Committee — which checks whether taxpayers' money is being spent properly — can finally end the much-maligned practice of meeting behind closed doors.

The move was announced as one of a string of new House rules aimed at improving accountability of parliamentarians, passed by MPs yesterday.

They will be put in place on a trial basis when Parliament recommences in May, with a view to being formally adopted in the Fall.

New orders in the 60-page document put together by former Premier Dame Jennifer Smith and United Bermuda Party MP John Barritt include:

l letting select committees decide whether their own meetings should remain private;

l introducing a 60-minute question period for Ministers on Friday mornings;

l creating Hansard: an official electronic record of all speeches in the House;

l making Ministerial Statements available to MPs at the time they are read.

The proposals received a chiefly warm welcome in the Lower House yesterday, with MPs hoping any problems can be identified and ironed out this summer.

"We must not let the perfect become the enemy of the good," said Mr. Barritt.

"Be always careful what you wish for, because in bringing about the kind of change that we want to see, that we want to see, it's going to require harder work in doing the Country's business.

"That's something we should not be afraid of."

Politicians will have to give notice of their questions ahead of the question period, unless it is urgent or arises from a Ministerial Statement read that morning.

Mr. Barritt said that in the UK most people tune in to the radio to listen to question period rather than Motion to Adjourn.

Under the previous system, any question not answered by 11 a.m. would not receive an oral response at all, giving Government MPs the option to waste time throughout the morning to avoid having to deal with them.

Progressive Labour Party backbencher Terry Lister yesterday conceded his own Government had used such a tactic.

"Government got up and congratulated everyone under the sun," he said.

"It's like they are reading out of the phone book, until one minute after 11. Why? Because the questions can't be asked."

The Royal Gazette's A Right To Know: Giving People Power campaign has been calling for the public to be allowed into meetings about affairs that affect them for the past two years.

Yesterday, Mr. Barritt told the House he wanted all meetings to be automatically open to the public when appropriate; however, following reluctance from Government a compromise was reached allowing the committees to decide themselves.

"I understand how Governments react. There's a reluctance to open yourself up to further questions and further opportunity for people to ask certain questions," he said.

"I think the concern is if the Public Accounts Committee is opened up, it will become a mini House of Assembly, where members will ask questions to make political points. Well, we need to get there."

He added: "It isn't just about embarrassing Government and finding fault. It's about creating a system that tightens things up."

Regarding committees, Deputy Premier Paula Cox said: "I think it helps in terms of having them open. Certainly, the Public Accounts Committee, because I think it provides a greater opportunity to hear on issues of substance."

Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney warned that opening PAC meetings to the public could lead to Government members feeling compromised and giving partial answers.

Premier Ewart Brown said Dame Jennifer and Mr. Barritt had worked well together because the "volume was turned down" in their dealings with each other.

Dr. Brown said too many dealings between opposing MPs were on a "war footing", saying: "If one concludes that war is being declared, one would be a fool not to prepare for that war."

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons responded later: "In my experience with committees of the House, they have not been on a war footing. Certainly with respect to the PAC, my experience was that individual members ... tended to bring a great amount of common sense."

Former Education Minister Randy Horton suggested adding time limitations on Budget speeches to the rules, noting that often Ministers consume huge chunks of debates reading their briefs.

UBP Leader Kim Swan added that Ministers should now read a "bikini version" of their briefs, to leave the Opposition and backbenchers more time to speak.

BDA MP Shawn Crockwell said rule changes were vital because the public are not happy with the way the House operates at present.

Shadow Works Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin stressed that when Opposition MPs ask questions it's to get answers the public need to know, not to embarrass Government.