criticism for his recent comments on the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) regulations.

He deserves credit for rejecting an Opposition proposal that companies should receive tax breaks for improving racial diversity among their staff.

He states, quite rightly, that would be rewarding people for not being racist -- something which we should all be striving for anyway.

But it raises the still-answered question of what happens when a company fails to reflect the Island's racial make-up and what kind of penalties it might incur.

Mr. Lister has stated that he believes that first gentle persuasion, and then peer pressure will make a difference -- those companies which are shown to be failing the CURE test will be publicly embarrassed and will change.

That remains to be seen, but Mr. Lister is right on principle; doing the right thing should be its own reward.

Where Mr. Lister deserves criticism is for his comments on the Portuguese community and his comments on why they were not included in the CURE questionnaire as a separate group from blacks and whites.

The simple answer to that question is that the Portuguese are not a race, but a nationality, and in Bermuda, a cultural group.

Mr. Lister takes the view that because there is anecdotal evidence to show that those of Portuguese descent have been successful, or at least more successful than blacks, it is the black population which needs assistance now.

In defending the CURE regulations, Mr. Lister has stated that there may be many more companies which already encourage diversity than people think. By the same token, CURE should seek the same information on Bermudians of Portuguese descent, and of Bermudians of Asian descent, all of whom have encountered discrimination.

If it turns out that they do not encounter discrimination now, then no more needs to be done.

A brief survey of the Bermuda Stock Exchange shows that the vast majority of publicly owned local companies have white male chief executives.

Of the 22 companies on the exchange, it appears that three are headed by black males, one is headed by a Portuguese male and two are headed by women.

That shows that black Bermudians are not the only group who are poorly represented at the highest levels of Bermuda business. If CURE's intention is to correct discrimination, it should cast its net as widely as possible.

Any form of discrimination is wrong as is any denial of opportunity. Given that, it would make sense to count every ethnic group in Bermuda to ensure that all receive the same opportunities in a society free of discrimination and prejudice.