Crime, traffic woes and race spark fierce debate
The scourge of drugs and gang violence, innovative transport solutions to combat traffic gridlock and a heated cross-party row on race were among the subjects raised in Friday's Throne Speech debate.
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And he said that there was a growing sense of "anger and frustration" at a perceived lack of opportunity for Bermudians, particularly among the younger generation.
He described Government housing policy as "one disaster after another" and called for a "24/7" approach to policing the roads, saying sporadic crackdowns were not enough. Asking how three cars managed to overturn in one recent weekend on an Island with a speed limit of 35kph, he added: "There are too many Bermudians who do not care for the rules of the road."
Government should have dealt with the CedarBridge mould problem earlier, he told the House, then the school might not have had to have been closed down. He also criticised the education department for giving US experts a "blank cheque" to fix the problem.
He said the PLP was not serious about the "scourge of drugs in Bermuda", said the renewed crackhouse clampdown had been heard before and asked for more information on the proposed National Drug Information Network. Resurrecting a controversy that surfaced in the last parliamentary year, Mr. Dunkley said that MPs should agree to be drug tested. "If we all stand together it shows that we are serious about dealing with the issues. Not only will we talk the talk, we will walk the walk."Former Education Minister Terry Lister, speaking from the PLP back-benches, said that the Throne Speech may have only contained a few sentences on transport initiatives, but said that some "startling things were said".
He said that many people criticised the Premier when he put 100 parking spaces at Rockaway when the fast ferry route there was introduced. "Now more are needed," said Mr. Lister. "People are now prepared to stand on that ferry."
Mr. Lister said that he had previously discussed the idea of free public transport with Dr. Brown, and said the revenue stream from bus tickets was small. "If we are serious about getting people out of cars, let's give them free bus rides. I would like to see every single bus in this country free."
On gangs, Mr. Lister said caution was needed not to brand people jobless criminals just because they hung around in groups. targeted policing was the answer, he told MPs. The former Minister did not comment on the CedarBridge mould saga, but he said that parents had a crucial role to play in education. He said that the "free pass" from middle to senior school was being addressed, so struggling pupils would be held back until they are equipped to succeed. The parenting programmes highlighted in the Throne Speech had been needed for some time, said Mr. Lister.
He expressed relief that income-based housing was "finally" set to become reality. Some parents struggling to buy a house in Bermuda were working as hard as they could and he added: "If they have three children and can't make it, why should they take a second job? Give those children the time. Our people should not find themselves in their own country struggling for housing. It should not happen."Shadow Education Minister Neville Darrell said that issues previously flagged up by the Opposition had found their way into the Throne Speech. Parenting programmes were overdue, and he added that the UBP had been raising questions about the schools testing regime for some time. Mr. Darrell told the House he once asked 14 questions on the subject — and did not get a reply.
He said it was "interesting" to see such ideas now being rolled out, but claims this was a "moment of enlightenment" were "disconcerting".
Mr. Darrell said he was pleased to see a pledge for teachers to be better recognised, stating they were too often "anonymous and undervalued".
But he said there had been six Education Ministers in 96 months of PLP power — the average length of stay being 16 months in office. This, he added, was not a sign of a meaningful commitment to public education.
More testing was needed, the House was told, so that students' problems are uncovered well before the crucial graduation exams. Mr. Darrell said there were some great success stories in the public schools system, but he added that this now needed to be seen across the board. The Education Act is the most powerful piece of empowerment legislation Government has, he stated.Health Minister Nelson Bascome asked how the Opposition could criticise the Throne Speech, given the widespread euphoria that had greeted it.
Responding to a report in the Mid Ocean News, raising concerns in some quarters about plans to scrap the indigent care clinic, Mr. Bascome said he would never speak to a reporter from that newspaper. Branding the paper "garbage", he added: "It's ridiculous the way they are carrying on."
In July, Mr. Bascome said he planned to sue the Mid Ocean News for libel over a story which claimed he was being investigated by police fraud squad officers
On Friday, the Minister told the House the aim behind the plans to scrap the indigent clinic was to show that every Bermudian was of equal value. People should not have their dignity undermined if they could not afford to go and see any doctor they wanted, he said.
Special care clinics would stay in place and services provided by the indigent clinic would still be available. And he pledged: "We are not taking away health care from anyone."Former Premier Alex Scott said he hoped Government would consider implementing some ideas that were removed from the Throne Speech when Ewart Brown rewrote it.
He was disappointed that a proposal to create safety zones at some of the island's public schools was not included in the speech.
He said: "One of the items was something called Five Additional School Safety Zones, which were to be named after Tayaisha Cox who was tragically killed in a road traffic accident as she was crossing the road to attend summer camp. They zones were to be called Tayaisha Cox zones."
Mr. Scott said Tayaisha's family supported the idea. "Tayaisha's family agreed with the idea. The zones would have been constructed at the Victor Scott Primary School, the Elliott Primary School, the Francis Pattern School, the Purvis Primary School and the Berkeley Institute.
"The zones would have required all road users and motorists to be most careful and cautious and to follow established protocol to ensure the safety of our young people."
Mr. Scott also hoped that Government would also consider implementing a National Youth Office.
"What was incorporated in an earlier version of the speech when I was Premier, was something along the lines that Government establish a National Office for Youth. This would have been modelled after the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged. The office would be a one-stop shop for the youth of Bermuda to seek advice and guidance on matters of importance.
"The office would be a place where there would be an individual or staff that would advocate for our young people. Again drawing them into the bureaucracy of Government so that they had an opportunity to contribute to the community.
Mr. Scott also moved to distance himself from the controversy surrounding CedarBridge. He said he was not aware of the problems at CedarBridge while he was Premier.
Mr. Scott said: "The Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson intimated at a press conference that individuals as high as the Premier would have known about the situation at CedarBridge and that it was criminally negligent that they ignored it.
"I wanted her and the public to know that this Premier found out about all aspects about the problems at CedarBridge when the news broke in the media." Shadow Minister for Public Safety, Maxwell Burgess spoke on the increase of violent crime and raised concerns about the Marcus Gibbings murder investigation.
He said: "The police service urgently needs to get back to full strength and we need to get back to old fashion policing. Police officers need to get to the stage where they can form relationships with members of the public. It is critical that officers form these relationships so that they can rely on people to assist them.
"I am concerned that the murder of Marcus Gibbings has not been solved. There is no one saying we have reasonable leads in this case. We do not have people in the community who trust the police enough to give them information so that cases like this one are solved."
Mr. Burgess also suggested that a lack of officers at the Bermuda International Airport has made it easier for criminals to import drugs into Bermuda.
"I am hearing stories that preventing drugs being imported to Bermuda is not going as well as it used to. Staffing problems being problem one and the relationship between police and customs being another. The Government needs to urgently take a look at this.
"People stroll through the airport now and are almost laughing saying the likelihood of getting stopped for importing drugs is relatively remote and I am saying this is encouraging the importation of illegal drugs."Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess said he accepted criticism over the backlog of work permits at his department. With requests for exemptions from the new six-year limit adding to the already heavy workload, he said that some "internal adjustments" had been made to speed up the process. And he predicted things would quicken up in May when the system became computerised.
On the Throne Speech, he said that a work placement programme would help some youngsters who turn up for work with "belts down the rear side of their body" with presentation tips.
No firm details were given about plans to tie work permits applications to jobs for Bermudians as he said policy was still being drawn up, but he indicated that the scheme would not affect upper level jobs and smaller companies. "If we do not train our people then our safety is in jeopardy," warned the Minister. However, the former union chief said that there would always be guest workers in Bermuda, even if all Bermudians were trained to levels Government demanded.
He said that recent drug tests, previously reported in the media, have indicated that the widespread belief that the vast majority of prisoners who enter jail test positive for drugs and that drugs were "rampant" in jail could be exaggerated.
"This country is on a roll," he concluded. "We are moving.
"We are not far from making this the best country in the world. Now people are proud of this country and are proud of this Government. And they are proud to have you as opposition members for life."Opposition backbencher Suzann Roberts-Holshouser said a poverty line had already been established in Bermuda, in the 2000 census, which defined 'poor' and 'near poor'. Later she said she would like to work with Government on the poverty issue.
She also called for more emergency housing for families and criticised conditions at the Southside shelter. Mrs. Roberts-Holshouser raised the issue of access rights for divorced fathers. She said that the vast majority of young men at Westgate grew up in a father-less homes.
"That does not bode well for a society seeking to heal itself. We must take a more pro-active look at how we are treating our fathers."Dale Butler, in charge of the new Social Rehabilitation Ministry, said that some people had said his department should be called Social Services or Social Rejuvenation. "The Premier says call it what you want, just get on with it."
He called on the Opposition to quit using "psychologically damaging" words like "failure", "broken Government" and "no real action" when describing Government's performance. However, he said he wanted to meet with his Opposition counterpart as soon as possible to share ideas on drug, youth, court and financial services, including those the UBP raised about hi-tech solutions to drug crime.
"It's not a Government or an Opposition problem," he stated. "It's ours." Mr. Butler said that when politicians were divided on drugs those involved in the crime celebrated.
Mr. Butler bemoaned the lack of responsibility shown by some people towards caring for their parents. Some parents give up their homes to their children, only to be "given the boot".
The Minister also warned of a benefits crackdown, signalling that ways would be found to get those strong enough to work, and who were were claming Government financial help, into jobs. He stressed this would not target the elderly or disabled.
Mr. Butler, who admitted he had never seen a crack house before, revealed he would be taking a tour of drugs dens in the near future.
Government is close to signing a lease on a new women's drug treatment centre, he also revealed, before stressed that the building would not see the light of day overnight.Perhaps the most heated debate of the evening came when David Dodwell rose to speak about race.
After criticising the lack of detail in the Throne Speech and stating that Government had a new leader "but it's the same team", the Shadow Tourism Minister said there was only one paragraph — "and no solutions" — on race in Dr. Brown's blueprint. He then compared it to what he said were details on tackling the race issue and boosting black empowerment in Wayne Furbert's reply.
In a rowdy exchange with the Premier, Mr. Dodwell then accused the PLP of not being comfortable talking about race. Dr. Brown branded this claim "ridiculous" and told the Opposition to "wait until we move from talk to action".
With the Mr. Dodwell struggling to be heard in the House amid noise from both sides, he asked why his questions had got the loudest reaction of the day, more so than housing or seniors. The Premier replied: "Nothing gets us excited like this one — it defines our entire existence."
Mr. Dodwell later pleaded with Government to start the country on the road to recovery and asked it to sign a code of conduct banning politicians from using racially-motivated words, such as "house nigger".
He said that some strides had been made in terms of social integration but that blacks were not at the same level economically as whites. "Screaming at me saying you do not know what you are talking about and you should have done it is not going to get us anywhere."
He accepted the UBP did not have all the solutions, but that the party was willing to work in partnership with Government on race.In response, the final speaker of the day, PLP backbencher George Scott said that the black community had been denied the opportunity to invest in business for a long time. Such entrepreneurs needed assistance, he added.
Mr. Scott, calling for cross-party support, added: "We need to put all our people to work. Those that have need to share what they have. We do not need legislation to do this. If you have a business.. let them participate in this economy."
He also stressed the importance of apprenticeships and questioned why the Opposition had not embraced such schemes. Youngsters in affluent Bermuda needed to learn the work ethic, because even when some were not working, they still had a roof over their heads and a warm meal at night.
Mr. Scott said that guest workers who have travelled thousands of miles to Bermuda with their family often worked for lower wages and were a "bit hungrier" in the job market.*The Throne Speech debate is due to resume on Friday.
Sparks fly over crime, traffic woes and race
