Budget.

And Shadow Finance Minister Eugene Cox -- in his last reply before a General Election -- took the opportunity to attack Government over the long slide in visitor numbers.

In a 90-minute speech, he told the House of Assembly that Finance Minister Grant Gibbons' Budget speech said the economy "is currently performing very well''.

But Mr. Cox -- pledging "a new deal'' -- said: "This assertion ignores the plight of the tourism industry, especially retailers, taxi drivers restaurateurs and hoteliers.'' And he added that Budget zero duty on materials for upgrading hotels and a duty cut in table linens could not make up for the slump in visitor figures or assist struggling shopkeepers.

Mr. Cox said PLP initiatives -- if in Government -- would include seasonal cuts to the Hotel Occupancy Tax, incentives for hotel nightclubs and entertainment and adjustment to other taxes affecting visitors directly or indirectly.

And, referring to international business, he added: "It is not good enough for one leg, one segment of Bermuda's economic sector to advance at the expense of the other. We want both legs to be well-muscled and strong.'' Mr. Cox summed up: "We must strive for a society which, while never abandoning the needy, or forsaking the helpless, nurtures incentives and opportunity for the creative and the productive.'' But Government came out fighting, branding the speech as long on hot air and short on substance.

Dr. Gibbons said afterwards: "It's clear to me that after all these years the Opposition still doesn't have a fiscal policy.

"They're very quick to criticise...but I think the very clear issue and you can see it over the years, they still can't say how much they will spend on a particular thing -- tourism initiatives, for example, and how they would pay for these things, which is more important.

Dr. Gibbons added: "It's a lame excuse to say they don't have enough information to say how much they would reduce a tax or increase a tax or reallocate from existing programmes.'' And he said: "If you're planning to invest in something, you want to see a prospectus -- what they plan to invest, how they would invest and what sort of return you can expect.

"The people of Bermuda are like that investor -- they want to know how their money will be handled. Either they have no precise fiscal plans or they're afraid to spell it out.

"There's plenty of information out there -- there's no excuse to say `trust us...vote us in and we'll tell you what we're going to do.'' And UBP backbencher Ann Cartwright DeCouto was first on her feet to lead the House counter-attack.

She asked what kind of price tag the "new deal'' would carry. She added one MP had said they didn't know and that was "kind of scary''.

She said the "first clue'' to the Budget reply's weakness was that there was no mention of how much would be cut from the Hotel Occupancy Tax of $13.4 million -- or where the shortfall would be made up.

And in reaction to heckling from the Opposition that they were not going to say, Ms Cartwright DeCouto said: "That's my point -- they're not going to tell you.'' During her address to the House, Premier Pamela Gordon said the PLP's Budget reply was full of promises and pledges, but lacked substance.

"The people of Bermuda need to know how it is going to be done,'' she said.

Text of PLP's Reply: Page 4