"formula for economic disaster'', a Government Minister charged yesterday.

And Government Senate Leader the Hon. Michael Winfield also blasted a PLP senator's comment that securing relations with US political leaders was "no big thing''.

The comment was made by Sen. Ira Philip while Sen. Winfield was describing the hard work local political leaders put into securing the US-Bermuda tax treaty.

"This is an example of the myopic vision of the PLP,'' he said. "It is so buried in the past it does not understand the future is based on relations hard to get and hard to maintain -- you can't just pick up a phone.'' The United Bermuda Party's formula, outlined in the Throne Speech, was one of success and an "action plan that will happen'', he said.

Sen. Winfield, Minister of Management and Information Services, called on the PLP to state exactly how it proposed to raise revenue for the proposals outlined in its Throne Speech response.

The Throne Speech stressed partnership throughout, he said, calling it vital for Bermuda's future.

The temperature guarantee winter campaign "partnership'' between the Tourism Ministry and hotels was proving an enormous success with arrivals improving already.

Bermuda would also see an increase of 28,000 berths when the Nordic Prince and Westward are replaced with larger liners next season.

Moving to social programmes, he presented a series of statistics to show how Government was helping Bermudians through the recession.

He said monthly housing allowance being paid out had shot up from $42,000 in 1989 to $258,000 at last count. The number of Bermudians given jobs through the Public Works employment scheme went from 40 in 1989 to well over 100 in 1992. And the number of people receiving social assistance had increased from 205 to 773 (in the same period), representing a monthly pay-out of $544,000.

Senate Opposition Leader Sen. Alex Scott opened his address by calling on Government to send national soccer coach Mr. Gary Darrell overseas for further training and exposure to soccer tactics. He said Bermuda needed a full-time director of coaching and he was the perfect man for the job.

Sen. Scott said a PLP government would utilise the talent of Bermudians to the fullest.

There were still foreigners in jobs Bermudians could be doing, he said.

He said Management Services still being run by a non-Bermudian and the director of the Employee Assistance Programme was also a non-Bermudian.

Sen. Scott said if Bermuda wanted to put tourism back on track, it had to relinquish its image of being a "little England''.

"A little England might be very hard to sell to a German population,'' he said.

He said a recent survey conducted at a travel conference in Egypt by Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen showed the one key feature that kept visitors coming here was Bermudians -- and not the beaches or British traditions.

"It's ve byes,'' he said. "And ve byes are not Englishmen.'' Sen. Scott made yet another plea for Bermudianisation and to even further limit the categories of work permit holders.

Construction jobs should be completely closed to non-Bermudians, he said. And the Police should be hiring Bermudians, instead of reducing hiring to save money.

He also claimed there was money in the National Drug Authority budget for the hiring of three foreigners, whom he said will come from Lynchburg, Virginia.

Sen. Wendell Hollis (UBP), compared Bermuda to a ship that was weathering the storm of recession.

Bermuda still earned more money per visitor than any other destination. The number of international companies registering here was up nearly two percent, retail sales 1.8 percent and export earnings seven percent.

Sen. Hollis pointed to the Ministry of Community Affairs' programme of teaching people how to apply for a job and Government's Employment Office efforts as examples of what Government is doing for the unemployed.

He also noted that the Bermuda College is providing degrees "relevant to employment in Bermuda'' and is retraining those who studied "irrelevant'' areas overseas.

He said rather than viewing international business as a competitor to tourism, people should realise the two go "hand in hand''.

While concerned about the economy, Sen. Hollis said, Bermudians cannot forget about the environment.

He said the fish pot ban has proven successful, "today the people can pick up any fishline and go to any foreshore and get fish''.

And he said although objections had been filed against The 1992 Bermuda Plan, it is now well received and beneficial to the environment. See story on Page 1.

"The Throne Speech is about sound Government,'' he concluded. "This Government continues to lay the foundation for the building and continuing of Bermuda.'' Calling the Throne Speech a second sequel to the 1990 Throne Speech, Sen. Joe Johnson (Ind) praised it for its long-term principles.

"I personally believe if Bermuda did not embrace these principles in 1990, Bermuda would not have found itself in the sound situation it is today,'' he said.

He was also pleased to hear Sen. Winfield say that amendments to the 1986 Telecommunications Act will "only be done after full dialogue'' with providers of communications and those who use it.

While Sen. Norma Astwood (Ind) commended Government for appointing the task forces and commissions, she said it must be careful not to increase the burn out and stress which some civil servants experience, particularly since some departments will be used more due to the recession.

Sen. Astwood also stressed that while it is helpful for the unemployed or underemployed to have financial assistance, emotional assistance is equally important.

"Some of Government programmes that are the first to be cut are those for helping people with emotional problems,'' she said.

She noted that in addition to working from 9 to 5, many single mothers also have to work evenings and it is difficult to find appropriate child care.

Sen. Ira Philip (PLP) said Government's Throne Speech convinced the Opposition that Bermuda needs a new agenda.

Noting the PLP's reply to the Throne Speech "gave insight into the type of agenda Bermuda can expect under a PLP Government'', he said: "After 20 year of power the UBP has demonstrated it lacks the moral fibre and commitment to do what is required. They have not united the Country.'' Sen. Philip said Government had mimicked the US and created task forces that are designed to "buy time and create the illusion of something being done''.

"We can look at the Pitt Commission in 1978 concerning the criminal justice system, the Royal Commission on Crime in 1978, the 1985 Royal Commission on Drugs and Alcohol, the 1991 Archibald Report, and now we're waiting for Judge Tumim's report,'' he said.

Sen. Philip said after recently learning that Judge Tumim is "hardhitting'' from his report on Britain prisons, the PLP questioned whether Government was having the report on Bermuda's criminal justice system "sanitised for Government protection''.

Sen. Philip also accused Government of having "recession workers'' who earn $8 an hour working alongside regular paid workers who do the same work.

"This is not a healthy thing,'' he said, "and it is creating some ill feelings in the community. If these people have to be working alongside regular paid workers, these people should be given full rate. It almost smacks of exploitation.'' Sen. Philip also accused Sen. Hollis of exaggerating about the replenishment of fish stocks since the fish pot ban.

Sen. Jerome Dill (UBP) said the Throne Speech dealt with controversies and challenges Bermuda will be faced with in the future.

While he agreed with Sen. Scott's comments about the national soccer team, he could not understand how Sen. Scott could misinterpret an excerpt in an editorial in The Royal Gazette yesterday about the team.

The editor suggested that a full-time director of coaching with international qualifications be hired to assist coach Gary Darrell.

"Sen. Scott raked that excerpt and said how The Royal Gazette was calling for a non-Bermudian to take over Mr. Darrell's job,'' he said.

"I don't see how that particular statement can be misinterpreted. I wonder if that member has forgotten the names of Richard Mallory, Clyde Best and even Randy Horton,'' he said.

Sen. Dill also wondered if Sen. Scott had read the Throne Speech.

He questioned how Sen. Scott could accuse the Government of doing nothing for the unemployed when it was spending close to three quarters of a million a month on the Housing Assistance Programme and Social Assistance.

Referring to Sen. Scott's statement about non-Bermudians being hired to work for the National Drug Authority, Sen. Dill said since local treatment programmes are understaffed and lack coordination, the National Drug Authority steering committee had decided to secure the services of an individual "local, if possible'' who will assess the treatment facilities.

He said one man in Lynchburg had offered to provide his services for free.

Sen. Trevor Woolridge (PLP) said parents were still confused about where Government was going with education changes. The PLP would have held a full-blooded debate on the reforms and would not have tried to "use children as political pawns'', he said.

Turning to immigration, he said the UBP had been forced to talk about putting Bermudians first because of their bad policies over the years. It was an insult to Bermudians to be "constantly overlooked''.

And he said it was difficult to understand why Government had "always, at every turn, frustrated the persons they claim to be their partners in the tourism industry'', i.e. trades unionists.

The Hon. Maxwell Burgess (UBP) said the PLP were playing Santa Claus, and wondered how their promises would stand up in the light of day.

The Opposition was promising long-term residents green cards while also saying they would come second in the employment line. The PLP could not resist the temptation, in these difficult times, to "pit the Bermudian worker against the non-Bermudian worker''.

A PLP government would not be interested in consensus but power, he said, pointing to the use of the word "allow'' in a PLP pledge to "allow our leading businessmen... to continue their important role''.

The PLP's "bagful of promises'' would lead Bermuda down the road to national debt, he said.

Youth and Sport Minister the Hon. Pamela Gordon said the extended family had been lost, and more young people seemed to be at risk. One reason was low self-esteem, she said, for unmarried women in their teens this could be a result of having a child.

She said the majority of unwed mothers were in their late teens and early 20s, a return to the situation in the 1970s. Until recently, the majority of unwed mothers had been women aged 25-40, who had made a mature choice.

"I happen to be one of those teenagers 20 years ago, so I'm very, very concerned about the direction in which we're going,'' she said.

Sen. Gordon said her Ministry would try to act as a place where young people could be guided to education and careers information, and would work to ensure youngsters had hope.

Government was also meeting with sporting clubs and organisations who were facing problems with long-term planning because their executives were not in place for long. Poor management ability was a problem, she said.

Summing up, Sen. Winfield said the PLP did not understand the nature of the changes happening in Bermuda and the world. International business said it did not want a separate ministry, but the PLP would set one up anyway.

Government had an "admirable'' record of putting Bermudians first in Government service. "Almost all the department heads are Bermudians,'' he said. Senator Scott had found two posts that were held by non-Bermudians, but one had recently had a Bermudian director-designate appointed.

But it was wrong to give Bermudians positions automatically. Bermudians would continue to earn their posts by their talent, skills and hard work.