the Opposition to plans to complete the National Stadium.

Mr. Lister, speaking in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, said the Stadium had been left for too long and he was determined that it would not become a white elephant.

Speaking during the Budget debate, Mr. Lister said his Ministry was also going to push ahead on Progressive Labour Party elections promises to get all sports clubs incorporated, to begin a process of alternative disputes resolution and to implement sports administration certification at the Bermuda College.

But Mr. Lister stressed the major importance of completing the National Stadium. The project was allocated $6.4 million in his ministry's budget.

Mr. Lister said he was "shocked, dismayed and floored'' that the Opposition do not embrace the building of the National Sports Centre.

"I expected them to stand with me on this issue,'' he said. "The project has sat incomplete for far too long. It was almost a white elephant project.

"I expected them to critique me, they are the Opposition and that is what they should do but I did not expect them to say `do not do it','' he said.

"This is a must-do,'' Mr. Lister continued. "This item was promised before CedarBridge and Westgate.'' Saying the project will go a long way to instilling National pride, Mr. Lister explained that constant postponement of the project has left local athletes feeling rejected.

"Don't say `don't do the project,'' he told the Opposition benches. "Let's go forward hand in hand in the public's eye. I want the Opposition to stand for the common good.'' But Shadow Youth and Sport Minister Patricia Gordon Pamplin was incensed by Mr. Lister's suggestion that her party is against the construction of the National Sports Centre.

Charging he was attempting to deliberately mislead the "people of Bermuda'' she sought to clarify the former Government's position and noted that priorities shifted in capital projects "to better facilitate the needs of the people''.

Pointing to the transfer of the dump to Tynes Bay, turning Pembroke Marsh into a park and major building at the airport, Ms Gordon Pamplin said she would "offer no apologies'' on the priority decisions of the UBP when it was Government.

"The UBP Government did all of the major necessary capital projects and so you now have the luxury of being able to focus on the National Stadium,'' she said. But she also advised Mr. Lister to be able to "re-prioritise'' if necessary, especially as housing was still a poblem.

Ministry of Youth and Sport 2000/01 estimates Ministry responsibility: To promote and support leisure and sporting activities in Bermuda.

Budget allocation: $11,499,000 (last year $11,471,000) Revenue: $986,000 Budget allocations Administration & Sports $1,953,000 Stadia $588,000 Community Centres $959,000 Camping $927,000 Summer Activities $609,000 After School Care $1,030,000 Parks $5,433,000