Opposition leader Grant Gibbons yesterday charged Premier Alex Scott of changing the style of Government ? but offering little of substance ? in his response to the 2003 Throne Speech.

He said since Mr. Scott had taken over at the helm of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) following former Premier Jennifer Smith?s ousting after the General Election in July, there had been a noticeable improvement in communication with the public.

However, the United Bermuda Party (UBP) leader said that would count for little if the Island was not provided with affordable housing, improved healthcare and a better deal for seniors ? all of which he claimed were missing from the Throne Speech last week.

?Since the election, we have seen a change in style,? said Dr. Gibbons.

?The new Premier has so far appeared eager to communicate with the public, and that?s as it should be. We have heard soothing words about party unity. We have heard claims that this new Government will be a ?broad church?, representing the interests of all Bermudians. We have heard promises about good Governance and releasing information that was suppressed for far too long.

?While reassuring words such as trust and unity sound much better than offensive references to shysters and suntans, they can be used to disguise inaction.

?Here?s the bottom line: we will need far more than a change in style to address the serious, social and economic challenges facing our community in the days and months ahead. We will need substance.?

Dr. Gibbons questioned how motivated the Scott Government was to provide more affordable housing, overhaul healthcare and address the needs of seniors if they were not mentioned in the Throne Speech.

And he said education, crime and tourism were given little weight.

?The 2003 Throne Speech is paved with good intentions,? said the UBP leader.

?How can we argue with good governance, openness and accountability when those exact words were used in the New United Bermuda Party?s election platform?

?But, as a legislative agenda, the Throne Speech lacks substance. The Scott Government fails to address in any meaningful way the issues that are most important to the people of Bermuda today; affordable housing, improving the lives of seniors, healthcare reform, crime, education reform, economic diversification and tourism.

?Affordable housing gets nothing more than lip service. We are told the Scott Government will establish a collaborative approach to the provision of affordable housing in Bermuda. That?s it? That?s the best they can do??

And he said while the Scott Government clearly understood the importance of communication, it should also understand that a change in style carried a Government just so far before a lack of substance began to show.

?While the Scott Government gets good marks for a change of style in their first 100 days, the United Bermuda Party and the people of Bermuda will be looking for substance in the days ahead,? he added.

Dr. Gibbons said it was one thing for the Government to talk about openness, but it was another to be sincere, and he said Mr. Scott could move towards that goal by releasing a number of awaited documents, including the annex to Bermuda?s commitment letter to the OECD, signed by the Finance Minister in 1999; the 1999 Civil Service Review; The 2000 Bermuda Regiment Review; a report on asbestos removal from Southside; and the tax review promised in 1999.

And the Opposition leader also criticised Government for earmarking land at Morgan?s Point in Southampton as possibly being used for housing.

Dr. Gibbons said the open site would be better used for leisure and tourism development.

He added: ?There are better ways to deal with affordable housing than to put homes on polluted land. The potential for development at Morgan?s Point to jumpstart tourism, diversify the economy and create jobs and business opportunities for Bermudians should not be dismissed lightly.?

Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Ewart Brown responded to the Opposition leader and said it was the PLP who had first introduced the issue of transparency years ago, so it was nothing new now.

And he said although the PLP did not always release reports and reviews as and when the UBP wanted them to, that did not mean that the Government was not transparent, but merely that it had a ?sense of time?.

Dr. Brown said although Government had not solved the housing problem in Bermuda, it was doing something about it, and he said the decline in tourism had begun more than 20 years ago, not since the PLP had come into power in 1998.

And referring to Morgan?s Point, Dr. Brown said: ?Am I to understand from that that it?s too polluted for residents, but it?s OK for tourists??

But on the charge of there being little substance to the Throne Speech, he said the country would see in time just how much work the PLP planned to do this coming year.

?I can tell them without any concern that their fears are groundless ? that they will see from this Government a very clear path,? said Dr. Brown.

?We will bring legislation to this House, some of which may have been in the Throne Speech, but some which may not have been in the Throne Speech.

?We will see in the course of this House, legislation coming here at such a pace and at such a rate, you might wish it were more style than substance.?