Opposition Finance shadow Grant Gibbons.

He said Government was boosting taxes to pay for pet projects while most people struggled to see any real benefit of the PLP's increased spending.

He said: "They are hitting everybody -- the man in the street, business, the rich, the poor.'' He said Government had blown a budget surplus of $23 million it had in 1999 and had converted it into a $55 million deficit within two years.

A 48-percent increase in spending on Government travel and a nearly half a million dollar bill for a round-the-clock guard of Premier Jennifer Smith came under fire.

Dr. Gibbons said: "Is this really necessary? Does the Premier really need that kind of protection? Will she set the record for the most expensive Premier?'' He said money had been spent on the Cabinet Office and the Premier's home and now there were plans for a communications consultant at $150,000 a year.

"I hope they come out of hiding but I don't think this $150,000 will do a lot to improve the situation.

"How much travel can you actually do? It seems extraordinary.

"There have been 211 additional positions added to the civil service since the PLP Government was elected.

"We wonder, with all the new civil servants, why more is not happening, why more is not being accomplished.

"This year, with record-setting expenditure at four times the growth rate of Bermuda's economy, the `people's' Government not only raised the `people's' taxes but also added $50 million to the `people's' debt.

"Today many Bermudians are hard pressed to say exactly what has been achieved by all this spending.'' "What happened to the quick fix on housing? Where have all the tourists gone? The Minister of Tourism has spent $11 million more over the last two budgets and actually managed to attract 17,000 fewer visitors.'' A 25-percent increase on departure taxes also harmed tourism said Dr. Gibbons.

He said Finance Minister Eugene Cox was confused because he had justified the $73.9 million increase as a way of stimulating the economy and then said that Bermuda had a relatively "buoyant economy'' which was growing at a "healthy 2.7 percent''.

"His contradictory defence is little more than an excuse for out-of-control spending, an inability to prioritise, inflationary taxation and risky debt accumulation.'' Gibbons slams PLP Budget He said the UBP would have prioritised rather than starting so many big projects at once such as fast ferries, new Police stations, the new Berkeley school and new Government offices.

Increasing national debt and inflationary taxes were leaving Bermuda exposed at a time when both the US and Bermuda economies were showing danger signs said Dr. Gibbons.

He said a five-percent fuel hike would hit motorists as well as hotels who use it for heating -- Dr. Gibbons feared they would pass on the increases to tourists.

Dr. Gibbons also warned Bermuda would struggle to find cash to deal with an emergency such as a hurricane or repairs to the causeway.

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