Bermudians and get job security -- but they will not get the vote.

The news came as Labour and Home Affairs Minister Quinton Edness yesterday unveiled a discussion paper aimed as easing the plight of long-time residents on the Island, a move revealed in yesterday's edition of The Royal Gazette .

Mr. Edness said: "If people are given status, they would be eligible to vote and own land.

"Certain privileges of owning land and owning their own house might be considered -- but they would only have voting rights if they had status.'' Mr. Edness was speaking just after he tabled the Green Paper on long-term residents in the House of Assembly.

He added there were around 2000 people who had been on the Island for at least 20 years, with around 1400 of those having been resident for 25 years-plus.

And he asked the public to read the document and make their views known to legislators to ensure the fullest possible debate -- and the fairest possible solution, taking into account protection of the rights Bermudians and long-term residents.

A series of public meetings will also be held over the summer, with a full debate in the House likely to be held in the autumn session -- and Government's decision on the matter following shortly afterwards.

Mr. Edness said: "The tensions created by the desire on the one hand to severely limit immigration into this tiny Country and on the other to be fair to those who spend many years living and working here is, for Bermuda, one of the most challenging social dilemmas of the end of the twentieth century.'' He added that some argued that having used the skills of non-Bermudians for so long, it was right to give them "sufficient permanence to allow them peace of mind.'' But he said others insisted that in-comers knew when they came to Bermuda that their stay could be cut short at any time, were entitled to the benefits of the Island while they were here -- but were owed no more than that.

Mr. Edness added: "These two points of view must somehow be reconciled because those who are caught in the middle are not simply statistics but real people -- families for whom the outcome of the debate is a matter of deep personal meaning.'' He stressed that Government did not want to influence the debate -- but come to a consensus arrived at after discussion over the summer.

Among the possibilities raised in the Green Paper are a US-style green card system -- the working resident card -- which would give people the right to work and live on the Island indefinitely, but which would be revocable.

Long-term residents Another solution touted is an amnesty -- status for residents with at least 20 years on the Island. Alternatively, a possible remedy could be waiving the legal requirement for three-yearly advertising of jobs held by non-Bermudian residents to provide job security.

The Green Paper said: "Although it might seem unnecessary on the face of it to recommend the grant of Bermudian status to long-term residents, there is also a case to be made that the Bermuda community needs to seriously question whether it is still appropriate to maintain the economic and social protectionist practices of the 1950s.

"Also to be considered is the yearning by long-term residents to belong. The peace of mind that the grant of Bermudian status provides to a long-term resident is very real to the person, perhaps the greatest benefit of all from that person's perspective, although taken for granted by others.'' Also addressed in the Green Paper are the rights of children. It is said it would "seem to be inappropriate'' to recommend that Bermudian status be opened up again for long-term resident children as a separate group.

And the authors added that long-term resident children would benefit from whatever is to be granted to long-term residents in general.

But the document said that divorced parent of a Bermudian child being eligible for Bermudian status generated "a considerable amount of sympathy.'' The Green Paper added that status could be granted in these cases "provided the non-Bermudian parent has had custody of the child as a minor and the other parent was Bermudian at the time of the divorce.'' The document also considered the possibility of limiting work permits to a maximum of nine years to avoid a recurring problem with long-term residents.

But the Green Paper said: "The proposal may have adverse effects on attracting international company business to Bermuda. The people of Bermuda will have to weigh the economic costs of limiting work permit extensions in this way against the social costs, if any, of not doing so.'' Mr. Edness said: "Members of the public are urged to think about and discuss these issues. Legislators will debate the rights and wrongs of the dilemma in House of Assembly and the Senate.

"They will be better able to do so if they know how Bermudians feel.

Therefore, everyone is urged to share with his or her Member of Parliament what he or she is thinking on this important matter.'' IMMIGRATION IMM GOVERNMENT GVT