Senators yesterday passed a bill changing the way the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality gathers its statistics.

The Commission for Unity and Racial Equality Amendment Act transfers the data collection tasks of CURE to the Department of Statistics.

It transfers the Review of the Workforce data from CURE to the Department of Statistics allowing more accurate data and avoiding duplication both for Government departments and businesses who must now only fill out one form rather than two.

The quorum of CURE has been reduced to "50 percent plus one" to give the board more chance of sitting if members have ceased to be active.

The meat of the bill had the backing of Senate members but Independent Senator Alf Oughton questioned why there was no stipulation about the minimum numbers for the Commission despite there being a stipulation in the original act about there being no more than 12.

And he expressed fears that the Statistics Act, which governs the working of the statistics department, might exclude the gathering of stats for CURE.

However Senator Neville Tyrell, who introduced the bill, said the Statistics department were already gathering the relevant stats and it would avoid duplication.

He said: "CURE will have more time to analysis data and follow up with additional training working with employers.

"There is less burden on employers."

He said CURE was working on a number of policies to tackle institutional racism including one making it easier for small black businesses to get into the tendering process.

Opposition Senate leader Kim Swan said his party backed CURE and had originally set it up but he said the present Government had squandered a chance to ease racial tensions when it was first elected. Instead it had exacerbated an already racially polarised community.

He said: "No political entity had a better opportunity. After the 1998 election what I witnessed was the white community was more than willing to hold hands with the PLP."

Instead PLP politicians had told them "I don't care what you think" said Sen. Swan who said Bermuda pretended everything was OK with race relations only for the lid to come off simmering tensions every time an election or a discussion of independence was raised.

The PLP had not eased the situation by accepting a code of conduct forbidding racial slurs during elections said Sen. Swan.

"We are polarised politically, economically and socially." The education system remained racially polarised, he said.

Sen. Swan said 24 of the 36 constituencies were dominated by one race or the other which was shown in how they voted.

"There's enough blame to go around.

"The two political parties need to look themselves in the mirror." Sen. Swan chided the PLP for claiming blacks in the opposite party were Uncle Toms.

"Do we want to continue to allow the PLP to continue under the delusion that they have a franchise for what it is to be black in this community?"

His party colleague Sen. Bob Richards said: "It is really good enough to have commission like CURE which is doing a good job but it seems you have a political leadership which is not prepared to lead by example.

"I believe Government should be using their position as a bully pulpit on this issue of race relations, specially on the issue of racial reconciliation but instead they are using it as a bully pulpit for racial division. It is really not acceptable."

Government Sen. Raymond Tannock said Government could not legislate to remove all polarisation.

Change would come through families and the community said Sen. Tannock.

"We cannot say 'not in my back yard'."

Senator Walter Roban said CURE was providing vital information including 2003 statistics which showed the plight of black people in certain earning categories had improved.

Sen. Tyrell said Government did not have a franchise on being black but he said they had a higher level of sensitivity on some issues.