Throne Speech in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Labour and Immigration Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman , who was speaking when the House broke up last Friday after the expulsion of former Opposition Leader Mrs. Lois Browne-Evans, said the speech "restated five key fundamentals that Government felt were very important to Bermuda and its people''.

And he said the Progressive Labour Party's response to the speech was nothing more than an "emotional response to a sound document''.

Attacking the PLP's reply to the Throne Speech point by point, Mr. Pearman said the party's "permanent residency'' proposal will pit Bermudians against non-Bermudians.

The PLP has said it would, if it were the ruling party, look into a new system of "permanent residency -- not linked to any form of Bermudian status or voting rights -- that will provide security of tenure for long-term residents "who have made a contribution'' to the Country.

At the same time, the party said, a strictly enforced moratorium on the granting of Bermudian status will be maintained with a view to all citizenship issues being resolved when Bermuda ultimately decides on its future constitutional position.

Mr. Pearman questioned what the PLP considered long-term. He asked if it was 20 years, what would happen to those living in Bermuda for 19 1 years.

"What this says is that a non-Bermudian can own property, operate businesses and do anything he wants except vote and have status,'' he said.

The PLP was misleading the public by saying its permanent residency system would be similar to the US green card system, he added.

In the US, 99 percent of those granted green cards go on to become citizens.

He also accused the Opposition and National Liberal Party of trying to "make hay'' out of the Portuguese immigration issue.

The PLP's statement about further limiting work categories to non-Bermudians did not say anything.

Concerning the PLP's promise to "use its unique position of having close ties with Bermuda's union leaders'' and employers to bring about industrial peace, Mr. Pearman said the PLP had failed miserably at this over years.

And he pointed to the Hobgood Award hotels situation as an example.

"Let's try to stop kidding the public with this rhetorical nonsense,'' he said. At Opposition members' urging he retracted the phrase, replacing it with "pipe dream''.

He said he did not understand what the PLP was talking about in reference to a Bermuda Status register.

Government has kept accurate records of those with Bermudian status since 1956 when the Immigration and Protection Act was created. And the type of status granted can be found under various sections of the Act.

He said Government would produce a national register of Bermudians to "simplify'' the Act for the public.

He said this will cut down on the time, cost, and frustration of those who have to prove they are Bermudian -- such as students applying for Government financial assistance -- face.

Mr. Julian Hall (PLP) said the Throne Speech was "long on words, but very short on ideas, new or otherwise''.

He said it was a regurgitation of the same slogans and ways the UBP has handled Bermuda's affairs.

He accused Government of not keeping its commitment to the environment as promised in the last Throne Speech.

While praising Government's residential recycling scheme, he said the UBP Government had been"grabbed kicking and screaming into a new way of handling the environment''.

This was mainly due to the efforts of people like Independent MP Mr. Stuart Hayward who was vigilant about the incinerator and the Bermuda Electric Light Company plant on St. John's Road.

Mr. Hall also accused Government of pushing the incinerator and the 1992 Bermuda Development Plan on the public without proper discussion.

He said while the PLP "fully supports all reasonable efforts aimed at preserving Bermuda's open space'', the Bermuda Plan would cause financial loss to many property owners whose property will be devalued under the Plan.

Nor was there compensation for those who bought property, some through a loan, shortly before the Plan was published.

"We have people borrowing on the value of their property only to find something that was worth $250,000 is now $50,000,'' he said, noting that this was a breach of the Constitution which gives the individual the right to protection from deprivation of property, including the value of the property, without due process of the law and compensation.

He also said because the Plan -- which includes "new principles, new zonings and new guidelines'' -- was not published in the Official Gazette, young landowners or those living abroad risked not finding out about the changes until after the appeal period had passed.

Government needed to consider removing the Environment Minister from the Planning appeal process, he said.

Noting that the City of Hamilton has "too much traffic and far too little character'', he said the city -- from Court Street to Queen Street and from Front Street up to Victoria Street -- should be "rendered car-less''.

"This may mean the erection of a multi-storey or underground parking,'' he said, "but we have to render Hamilton car free so we can have a Hamilton that is much greener and has proper side walks''.

"If we can eliminate the car population at least in the city, then we would have done a lot to enhance the overall quality of Bermuda's environment,'' he said.

Turning to the review of Bermuda's criminal justice system, Mr. Hall said he smelled a rat.

Noting chairman of the review team, British Judge Stephen Tumim's directness in his report on Britain's prisons, he accused Government of suddenly dragging its feet on releasing the report on Bermuda.

He said he recently read in The Royal Gazette that the report, prepared by a team led by Judge Stephen Tumim, was not complete because it contained a number of inaccuracies which need to be corrected.

"I want to see the original report and I want to see the corrected report,'' Mr. Hall said. "This Government wanted to say it was commissioning a review of the criminal justice system because it wanted to be seen as concerned about the perceived injustices and injustices of the system.

"Having done that it wanted to call an election, then changed its mind because of the result of the US election and now it wants to drag its feet on this report.'' Mr. Hall said many people were "falling through the cracks'' of Bermuda's "unfair'' criminal justice system, which needed urgent review.

He claimed he had seen the start of efforts to denigrate Judge Tumim and delay the release of the report.

And he demanded an explanation for the delay of this "most important and valuable'' report.

Mr. Hall went on to accuse Labour Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman of "sophistry'' by trying to put a rosy hue on job figures presented to the House.

"There are lies, damnable lies, and then statistics,'' he said.

Mr. Hall said the PLP accepted the impact of the recession, but it was important for Bermudians to get first consideration for job vacancies.

The PLP understood the interplay of factors when assessing renewal of work permit applications.

"It may be a non-Bermudian is crucial to a business, and by losing him it would put eight Bermudians out of work,'' he said.

But there was a perception Government had deliberately manipulated demographics for political purposes. This was exemplified by the number of white British ex-Police officers granted status, in contrast to the treatment meted out to Portuguese and West Indians.

"We need a more humane approach,'' he said.

Mr. Hall went on to highlight the plight of a convicted rapist, a young black Bermudian, who later received a certificate of rehabilitation from Government.

His criminal record was supposedly expunged.

He described how the "intelligent and ambitious'' young man set up a security alarm firm.

But, said Mr. Hall, the man received a letter from British-born Assistant Commissioner of Police A. Forbes stating the firm was not Police approved.

And the letter, claimed Mr. Hall, advised Police would not respond to "alarm activation.'' Mr. Hall linked the letter with the claim many competing security firms were run by British ex-Policemen.

He added the young man had allied himself with the United Bermuda Party, but was an example of the "John Swan nightmare''.

Mr. Hall said he himself was beginning to feel like a foreigner in Bermuda.

"I don't feel Bermudian,'' he said.

Mr. Hall said granting status was still a part of the "old boy secret network'' set up by the UBP.

He then launched into an attack on The Royal Gazette , condemning daily "electioneering and vituperative attacks'' in the editorials on behalf of Government.

Mr. Hall singled out an editorial warning the Portuguese against aligning themselves with the PLP.

This was all part of the philosophy of "divide and rule'', he claimed.

It was the use of "threats and intimidation'' to scare people away from the PLP.

Mr. Hall attacked "Johnny come lately'' British reporters, claiming they were part of a "vicious, ruthless and nasty'' campaign aimed at destroying reputations.

He said PLP candidates, such as Mr. Michael Scott, has been subjected to a coordinated and careful smear campaign aimed at keeping the UBP in power.

He referred to a front page Royal Gazette story which said a Supreme Court judge had "scolded'' Mr. Scott for not appearing on behalf of a defendant in a case.

"The same judge called in Mr. Scott and told him she had never said any such thing,'' Mr. Hall said.

Editor's note: The story Mr. Hall referred to was drawn from a judgement written by Puisne Judge the Hon. Mrs. Justice Wade in which she said Mr.

Scott, representing the defendant in a civil case, had failed to appear for a hearing and efforts to contact him had failed. She further said that Mr. Scott had earlier been reminded of the date of the hearing by the plaintiff's lawyer, who said he did so because Mr. Scott had failed to appear on previous occasions.

Mr. Hall mocked the Throne Speech, tagging it a "38-minute piece of vacuous political rhetoric.'' It had been cruel to ask the Governor Lord Waddington to read it out.

Mr. Hall also touched on the issue of Independence, calling on Bermuda to "grasp the nettle''.

Colonialism was an irrelevancy, and if Government was serious about a Bermudian consensus it should move towards Independence.

Mr. Ottiwell Simmons (PLP) started by calling on Government to refine its recycling programme.

He urged it to reconsider cutting household garbage collection by 50 percent.

Mr. Simmons also warned of possible future redundancies in the garbage business following privatisation.

Turning to the recession, he said some institutions, such as the banks, had made healthy profits recently.

But it was the unemployed and the needy who were paying the price for the recession.

And 99 percent of the jobless were black Bermudians.

The effects of the recession were visible, with an increase in violent, often domestic, crimes.

Despite a surplus of housing, homelessness was on the increase, he said. "I have seen so many people wandering Bermuda's streets with mental and psychological problems.

"The Country is socially on the decline. We have got one of the worst social and economic problems this Country has ever seen in its history.'' Mr. Simmons said the benefits system was clearly inadequate to cope -- one had to be poverty stricken before getting any help.

He went on to accuse the UBP of setting out to destroy those who did not support it.

One example was the ZFB broadcasting station, launched by black Bermudians, and another the Bermuda Recorder newspaper.

Mr. Simmons, president of the Bermuda Industrial Union, continued by defending his own organisation's democratic set-up.

He said members were free to vote how they wished, although the union itself had chosen officially to associate itself with the PLP.

And Mr. Simmons accused Government, with the help of employers' organisations, of trying to wreck the union movement.

Deputy Speaker the Hon. Ernest DeCouto twice intervened, warning Mr. Simmons it contravened Parliamentary etiquette to speak on behalf of any organisation with which an MP had a contractual agreement.

But Mr. Simmons replied many members of his Pembroke East constituency were BIU members.

And turning to the Hobgood Award, Mr. Simmons staunchly defended his union's rejection of it.

He accused Government of fixing the award through meetings with Mr. Bill Hobgood.

Mr. Simmons stressed he had the "highest regard'' for Mr. Hobgood.

But his award was really a "Government award'', and that was why the BIU rejected it.

Minister of Delegated and Legislative Affairs the Hon. Sir John Sharpe said there was a wide perception the PLP was not free from the domination of the leadership of the BIU.

Sir John also rejected Mr. Simmons' allegations Government had effectively fixed the Hobgood Award.

This was absolute nonsense -- Government had no idea what the award would be.

On Independence, Sir John said most people were generally "apathetic or unenthusiastic'' about the issue.

"We should direct our limited resources to maintaining and improving and building the infrastructure of Bermuda, not tilting at the windmills of Independence.'' Sir John accepted those granted status in Bermuda were mainly white. But this was in proportion with the number who applied.

Employers had also mainly sought white workers, such as chartered accountants and lawyers.

This was because there were far fewer foreign black workers in these categories.

Sir John said Government had no influence on which foreign workers employers wanted to hire.

On the Throne Speech, Sir John accepted it was unusually long, but the Country was living through unusual times.

He went on to defend the idea of a Bermudian consensus espoused by Government.

Two examples of such consensus were the drug strategy, and the education planning team.

Sir John said the UBP delivered on its promises but stressed that no-one can now take increased growth, increased jobs and increased wages for granted. He said: "I anticipate three things will unfold over the next 15 months which will make a substantial contribution to Bermuda's economic recovery. "They are Government programmes which have kept the worst effects of the recession at bay, the American recovery and the inhibiting uncertainty will end and the UBP Government will be re-elected with Bermuda moving forward with more confidence.'' Shadow Minister of Community Affairs Mr. Reginald Burrows (PLP) admitted that the last two years have been difficult times.

Mr. Burrows said: "Let me say that during this time the Government has provided some assistance to those people who have been severely affected. But in many cases it amounts to too little too late.'' Accusing the Government of being a "crisis government,'' he hit out at staff shortages in health and social services and addiction services and cuts at St.

Brendan's Hospital.

"This is what I call poor planning. If, when the boom was on, Government would have instituted proper plans and measures they would have had something to fall back on in these recessionary times. If you cause the rain then you must also be responsible for the drought.'' He also attacked the Government's record on integration, especially mentioning the number of blacks in Casemates Prison.

He called for more educational importance to be placed on jobs in the construction industry stating: "The Government let everything go ahead during the boom years, when we should have been trying to regulate and control our construction.

"They had to import people who were highly skilled on high wages who were given lots of overtime work. When they left all that money left with them.'' Mr. Burrows also called for more control over establishments licensed, or applying for licences, to sell alcohol.

He said: "Youngsters will tell you `You drink your booze and we will smoke our weed or snort our coke.'' They see no difference.

"I cannot help but agree with them when one looks at all the hardship and harm that alcohol has caused over the years.'' The Hon. Harry Soares (UBP) claimed the UBP was more integrated than the PLP.

Mr. Soares also quoted Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade as saying that the effects of a recession in US would not affect Bermuda, and then outlined a number of ways in which the Government has attempted to ride out the effects of the slump.

He said: "No man is an island and, what the PLP do not realise is that no country is an island. The whole world is interdependent.'' Mr. Soares particularly stressed the problems that could be caused by a green card system. He said: "If some guest workers were given green cards it would mean they would compete equally with our people for jobs and houses.

"In the US a green card is a precursor to citizenship. Are the PLP saying to these 900 people, who have been here in excess of 20 years, that they will be given citizenship.'' Mr. Soares said the Government was committed to doing what was right for Bermudians but also recognised the contribution made by guest workers on the Island.

Shadow Minister of Transport, Mr. Walter Lister attacked UBP claims that they had predicted the recession. He said: "If that was true there would be so many people from Wall Street beating a path to the Premier's door he would never be able to deal with them. It is a pipe-dream.

"The only person beating a path to the Premier's door is George Bush, who now finds himself unemployed. All this talk about them being economic gurus is not true.'' Mr. Lister called for Government involvement in the disputes over licences for taxis at the airport. He said: "It is causing a lot of friction amongst operators. The PLP wants to find a solution before it becomes explosive.

He called for an all encompassing national body to oversee the whole transport system in Bermuda.

The Hon. Haskins Davis (UBP) hit back at comments earlier in the day concerning Environment Minister the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto , who was ill at home. PLP members had claimed that Mrs. DeCouto had been involved in `zoning' her property differently than her neighbour's.

Mr. Davis said: "This is unfair, unkind and untrue. It is also a bad reflection of the technical staff of the department.'' He also praised the fish pot ban introduced by Mrs. DeCouto's department which the PLP had earlier attacked.

He said: "I can tell you that since that ban it's had a good effect. I do not know the PLP position on fishing. I do not even know if they know how to bait a hook.'' Mr. Julian Hall The Hon. Sir John Sharpe The Hon. Irving Pearman.