Seven months after Government was found to have used tax-payers' money for a political broadcast, the rules have been re-written so that party television addresses will in future be financed by the public purse.

The United Bermuda Party (UBP) branded the changes to the Broadcasting Commissioners Act as "sinister" and designed to cover up Premier Jennifer Smith being caught out over her political broadcast of February 2002.

Despite the Broadcast Commission ruling last August that the Premier's address was political, the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) has still not repaid the more than $6,500 for the cost of the broadcast and Government has said it will not pursue the PLP for the money.

Under new rules published in the official legal notices in The Royal Gazette yesterday, political broadcasts will be paid for out of the Consolidated Fund, and the Opposition will get half the time of Government to respond in its own address.

Shadow Legislative Affairs Minister John Barritt said in the House of Assembly last night: "Not only are Government poor losers (over the Commissioners' ruling) they can't do the right thing, and they have to re-write the directives and publish them on the back page of the newspaper.

"This is nothing but sinister in the way they have handled it as a government. Having been judged wrong, you steadfastly refuse to go to the party and pay for it as a (political) broadcast.

"If that isn't brass enough, you go behind doors with the Broadcasting Commissioners and change the directives. It shows it is sinister, it shows it is (through the) back door, and it shows a lack of transparency."

The Broadcasting Commission was non-elected so it did not have the powers to decide what is done with tax-payers' money, he said.

Mr. Barritt said the PLP's claims to be transparent, open and accountable were "absolute hogwash" and added "I wonder if anything was going to have been said about this if I hadn't raised it".

PLP MPs interjected that Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb was not in the House, but Mr. Barritt said it was a collective Government decision, and he wasn't fooled.

As Mr. Barritt raised the issue, Attorney General Dame Lois Browne Evans interpolated "dopey Marshall" - a reference to Broadcast Commission chairman Tim Marshall. After objections from Mr. Barritt, she added the whole Commission was "dopey" over the way they handled the Premier's broadcast.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said the "only people who come out ahead" over the changes were the UBP because in the past the Opposition had lost the right to respond.

"When we were the Opposition, initially we could have equal time for the last two weeks, but that was taken away by the UBP."

Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said the UBP did not want the tax-payer to fund political broadcasts. "If it is political, we'll pay for it ourselves," he said.

Minister without Portfolio Neletha Butterfield said the broadcasting directives were made by Commissioners and did not require the approval of the Governor or a minister, or the scrutiny of Parliament.

She said the Commission had asked for input from the public and carried out wide-ranging consultation, including with the Opposition.