Highlights of today’s Throne Speech include pledges to:

• Strengthen human rights legislation to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of mental disability, as well as discrimination through printed word, telephone discussions or any electronic medium

• Improve legislation such as the Senior Abuse Register Act to give better protection for seniors and people with disabilities

• Remove inconsistencies from sentencing of those who commit sexual crimes against children, while separating sexual experimentation from the most serious sexual offences

• Pursue legislative steps for a mental health court

• Work with groups such as Focus to ensure drug addicts and alcoholics can get the treatment they need efficiently and cost-effectively

• Pilot a programme to increase access to chronic disease medications

• Table and debate legislation to end conscription

• Move forward with department amalgamations to improve public sector efficiency

• Ban dark helmet visors through legislation aimed at tackling violent crime

• Address the Island’s lack of a secure forensic psychiatric unit

• Complete crop and dairy sector strategies to decrease reliance on food imports

• Modernise the framework that deals with long-term sick police officers

• Introduce an Electricity Act to allow competition in the generation of electricity and ensure the electricity service is environmentally sustainable, secure, reliable and affordable

• Conduct a review of pension arrangements to determine whether public and private pension contributions are set at appropriate levels, and make changes to the supervision and regulation of pension plans and their service providers

• Introduce regulations for the administration and regulation of gaming

• Give students the right to vote while they are studying abroad

• Embark on a programme to identify and dispose surplus government real estate, with money going to the Sinking Fund to pay down debt

• Carry out a review to determine the best means by which to close one of the minimum security facilities

• For the full text of the Throne Speech and a full outline of planned government initiatives, click on the PDF links under “Related Media”.