should serve the Island well. The Tourism Board is perhaps the best example of this -- it may well be a better focused and more inclusive body than its predecessors and should be able to do some valuable work for Bermuda.

But the latest round of appointments do not seem as likely to achieve that goal. One of the lasting achievements under the United Bermuda Party was the fishpot ban enacted by Ann Cartwright DeCouto when she was Environment Minister. This was an act of political courage carried out in the face of heavy opposition. Today, the policy's success can be seen by all -- Bermuda's fish stocks, while far from flourishing, are recovering and if there was a problem with the fishpot policy, it was with its continued enforcement.

That makes the appointment of Danny Farias as chairman of the Marine Environment Committee surprising. Mr. Farias was the most vocal opponent of the fishpot ban. In addition, two other fishermen who opposed the ban are also on the board of the Marine Environment Committee. Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson says the aim of the appointments is to improve relations and communication between the fishermen, environmentalists and his Ministry. That aim is laudable, but many environmentalists will see this appointment as the fox being put in the hen house.

Other appointments are less troubling, but still raise questions. Cheryl Lister is well respected in financial circles and the Government deserves some credit for making her the first female chairman of the Bermuda Monetary Authority. But there may be questions in the future over a conflict of interest as she is the wife of Development and Opportunity Minister Terry Lister, who is widely touted as a future Minister of Finance. Should he ever be appointed as Finance Minister, Mrs. Lister will doubtless step down from her post.

Some people may also question the appointment of Rolfe Commissiong to the Treatment of Offenders Board, given that he is himself an ex-inmate. But it may be that Government feels that he can bring some special insight to the board's work.

And there will be disappointment that Brian Hall has not been retained as chairman of the Bermuda College. While the new chairman, MP Randy Horton, is a former educator and has a long record of working with the youth, Mr. Hall seemed to be succeeding in taking the College to the next stage of its development. Mr. Horton may well carry on where Mr. Hall left off. And as a member of the Parliamentary group, he may well be an effective advocate for the College within Government. We will have to wait and see.

Government had an opportunity to take a hard look at the boards and to abolish those which no longer served much purpose. No such review appears to have taken place.

It was also an opportunity to include more of the community on the boards. To some extent, that has been done, with Progressive Labour Party supporters joining the boards, often for the first time. Moreover, several leading members of the National Liberal Party have either been retained on boards or have been appointed to them.

But it does seem that other people -- who were not fervent United Bermuda Party members -- have been dropped when they still could have given good service. Given that some people have been placed on a multiplicity of boards, it would seem that there was room for a wider range of appointments.