Governor Thorold Masefield yesterday. The Throne Speech outlines the Government's legislative and policy plans for the next Parliamentary year.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, Almost one year ago, we gathered in the Cabinet Building, with a Government newly entrusted with the responsibility of managing this Island.

Since that time, Government members have experienced challenges and accomplishments; felt joy and frustration; and learned to balance the implementation of new ideas and policies with the established procedures of the civil service.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, Government has willingly shouldered the burden of a people's hopes, fears and dreams to create a more inclusive and fairer society and, through dogged determination, focused energy and faith in God, has begun to lay the foundation on which A New Bermuda is being built.

Government's first Throne Speech last year announced plans to motivate and enable students, abolish annual voter registration, restore twice a week garbage collection, eradicate wasteful Government expenditure and ensure a Government of accountability, transparency and fairness.

Government has delivered on each of these initiatives. Legislation passed this year enables eligible voters to register at any time throughout the year. In addition, the appointment of a Parliamentary Registrar, separate from the Registry General, answerable to and appointed by the Governor in accordance with the Constitution, will allow for an open register of voters to be maintained more effectively and efficiently.

During the first Legislative Session, Parliament met a total of thirty-one times, sitting well into the summer in order to deal with an ambitious legislative agenda that saw the approval of forty-five public bills, eight of which were Budget-related, fifty-two Statutory Instruments, nine of which were Budget-related and a number of Orders, Regulations, Rules and Ordinances made under the authority of existing legislation. In addition, Parliament approved five land transactions involving the sale or purchase of land by Government and seven Supplementary Estimates, two of which were for the current Budget year.

Once again, Government has drawn up a formidable legislative agenda.

The move to create a proper foundation for true educational success has begun.

The pre-school instructional groups have been reduced to a maximum of ten children. The introduction of mandated class sizes in Primary 1 will be followed by Primary 2 in the forthcoming school year and Primary 3 in September 2001. Plans for a second senior school are being finalised and construction is scheduled to begin in the new year.

As promised last year, action taken to motivate and enable students included the transfer of the Child Development Programme to the Education Ministry, so that programmes begun at age two can continue to be built upon at the preschool, primary, middle and senior levels. In addition, in September, attendance officers commenced work, while trained teachers replaced paraprofessionals in preschools and a system-wide literacy initiative was implemented.

The report on the Civil Service Review, expected within a few weeks, will form the basis of civil service reform designed to provide better services to meet the needs of the public it serves.

In addition, in partnership with hotel owners, the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Bermuda Hotel Association, Government is rebuilding the Tourism Industry. The judiciary is being modernised with plans for a new court building totally equipped with the technology needed for transcribing trials.

A review of salaries is underway. Finally, consideration will be given to making provision for additional judges.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, Literacy is a major focus of Government at all levels of the school system. Programmes, including training more teachers to deliver the Reading Recovery Programme, a new language arts text entitled Literacy Place and increased reading activities have been introduced in all schools. Additionally, curriculum-based assessment tests will ensure the effectiveness of teaching instruction, while a joint effort between the Bermuda Union of Teachers and the Education Ministry will result in the implementation of continuous certification for teachers at all levels.

A second major focus is information technology in schools. The XL Initiative, which has resulted in the provision of fifty computers in the two senior schools, will be supported through the additional training of teachers. The literacy focus at the primary level will be enhanced through the use of technology. Bermuda College will also focus on preparing Bermudians for the growing importance of information technology, while increased opportunities will be created for Bermudian students through new relationships being forged with the University of the West Indies and several US universities.

Efforts to improve the safety and security of students and teachers included a survey of all principals and teachers-in-charge to identify their concerns; a review by Bermuda Fire Service to assess the capability within schools to detect and prevent fires; and a Bermuda Police Service review with respect to the necessary actions to improve the protection of individuals and property with schools. A plan to address the issues raised is to be developed.

Parents of special needs children will be surveyed in relation to the ability of the current system to meet the needs of their children and how they feel these needs can best be met.

Finally, the mobile library has been upgraded to improve its service to the community, while the National Library has extended library hours on a experimental basis designed to gauge public need.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, Government's promise to "put the Bermudian identity back into tourism'' has already begun, with Bermudian entertainers welcoming our visitors at the Airport and at cruise terminals. Next year, the result of another Tourism Initiative will see the first Bermudian interns begin working on Bermuda cruise ships.

In the coming year, for the first time, eco-tourists will be able to take regularly-scheduled eco-tours to the Nonsuch Island nature reserve and visiting scuba divers will be able to participate in workshops at the Marine Archaeological Laboratory of the Bermuda Maritime Museum.

Meanwhile, Government's new "cruise-stay-and-fly'' initiative is revolutionising the former adversarial relationship between the cruise and hotel industries with a mutually advantageous partnership. In May 2000, the new weekend cruise ship, the Crown Dynasty , will join the Norwegian Majesty in this programme, with the combined potential of supplying over 50,000 additional bed nights to the Island's hotels.

In addition, Government will be launching a coordinated 60-day advance booking system for all golf courses to assist visiting golfers.

Incentives for productivity will be key to Government's relaunching of Bermuda tourism. At the end of November, the first VIP Awards for Excellence in the Hospitality Industry will be awarded to top achievers, while a re-launched and re-designed Bermuda Internet web site will involve the use state-of-the-art technology to assist both travel trade specialists and consumers.

Plans are at an advanced stage for over $300 million in new hotel investment, encouraged by incentives provided by Government. Among the projects benefiting from these incentives will be a rejuvenated Castle Harbour Resort and the new eco-tourism related resort at Daniel's Head. Also talks are in progress aimed at developing new air gateways in the United States and continental Europe.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, In the Finance Ministry, Government is using new technology to meet the needs of businesses and to benefit from technological developments. Plans are already in hand for the electronic filing and payment of tax returns, a move that will allow for the immediate updating of taxpayer records as well as a reduction in paper flow. There will also be amendments to The Public Treasury Administration and Payments Act to strengthen Government's ability to collect debts and impose penalties.

In the coming Legislative Session, members will be asked to pass Census Act Regulations required for the national census to be conducted in the year 2000.

Members will be asked to approve amendments to The Insurance Act 1978, The Investment Business Act 1998, The Institute of Chartered Accountants Act 1973 and Limited Liability Partnership legislation will be introduced.

In addition, in keeping with Government's policy not to allow any gambling other than that which is traditionally allowed, amendments will be presented to ban the importation of Gaming Machines, Break Out Cards and their related equipment and parts.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, With the passage of the Electronic Transaction Act, the E-Commerce Advisory Board has now been established and it will assist in the drafting of a Code of Conduct for E-Service providers and intermediaries. To further the Government's ability to lead the island's E-Commerce potential, the Computer Systems and Services Department has been moved from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Telecommunications and E-Commerce.

Recent innovations and technological changes in this fast-paced industry have resulted in the need for a new Act. Accordingly, a position paper on a new Telecommunications Act is being produced and, after consultation with all interested parties, will be laid before the Legislature. Meanwhile, the Ministry's newly created Department of E-Commerce will concentrate on marketing and business development with the aim of making Bermuda an E-Commerce hub.

Government is also keen to ensure that the best use is made of information technology to improve the efficiency of the civil service.