It would be inappropriate to comment on Julian Hall's application to have his bankruptcy, and therefore suspension from practising as a barrister lifted, but there are several questions about his employment as a consultant for the Ministry of Works that deserve to be answered.

Mr. Hall has stated that he was taken on as a consultant in January, at which time he resigned from Pro-Active Management Systems and its associated entities, whom he was previously representing against the Works Ministry in its arbitration over the Berkeley project.

That sequence of events seems a little unusual, but Mr. Hall did surrender his interests in the correct way. On a related note, Works Minister Derrick Burgess, who was president of the Bermuda Industrial Union which supported Pro-Active Management at the time of the Berkeley project has also recused himself from anything to do with the dispute, and rightly so.

What is still a mystery is what exactly Mr. Hall is doing for the Works Ministry for his fee of $119,000 a year. He has chosen not to say, citing confidentiality clauses in his contract and the Official Secrets Act which he had to sign when he was hired.

That is not good enough. The public has a right to know how and to what effect its money is being spent, Official Secrets Act or no Official Secrets Act.

Nor is Mr. Hall alone in this, and it may be unfair to single him out. The Bermuda Public Service Union is already on the record as expressing their concern about the number of consultants on the Government payroll, and finding out how many there are and what they are paid has been difficult, although the Budget states that $79 milliion, up from $71 million a year ago, will be spent on professional services, which would include, but would not be limited to, consulting fees.

This is just one example of why Bermuda needs a Public Access to Information Act.