MPs passed a bill changing the names of Parliamentary Secretaries to Junior Ministers yesterday - prompting the Opposition to wonder whether the grander title will result in higher salaries.

The bill applies to Senators who hold ministerial briefs in the Senate.

Legislative Affairs Minister Dame Lois Browne-Evans said Government needed extra help from time to time.

Mr. Barritt said it was a cosmetic change and the more grandiose title would suit politicians who otherwise might be mistaken for secretarial help when on overseas trips where they were unknown.

He said the constitution limited the number of people who could serve in the Cabinet and Government was planning to cut the number of ministers anyway.

He said: "It's a preoccupation with style, people in the country are concerned with substance."

He asked for reassurances that Government wasn't planning to up salaries for those with the new title but Dame Lois could give no such assurances.

She said: "At this stage that is all that is planned. I don't have a crystal ball."

She said she was no longer the leader of her party but Mr. Barritt said she sat in Cabinet and should know what was planned.