As we reflect on the year that has come to a close and as we step forward as a country into a new year, let us rejoice that we live in an amazing country. We should not take our good fortune for granted for we have been given a precious gift. This is a gift that must be nurtured, treasured and improved upon.

Good Government, the rule of law and market economics transformed Bermuda, which was largely an undeveloped rural agricultural community of the post war years, into one of the most successful countries in the world. Our successful market economy paid for the general improvement in our overall quality of life. In the last 35 years in particular, our social, economic and educational progress has helped to enhance the social and political stability of our community. During this period the range and quality of social services, educational, physical and communications infrastructure expanded dramatically.

Therefore, educational standards and opportunities increased considerably enabling a high percentage of young men and women to attain a college or university degree.

We must not be paralysed by false modesty because Bermudians, together with non-Bermudians, have created a solid foundation economically, politically, socially, culturally and environmentally which makes Bermuda one of the finest countries in the world to live, work and raise our families. To quote Ottiwell Simmons in a recent speech to Parliament, "Everyone finds Bermuda to be either the best or one of the best places in the whole wide world''. We do not pretend to be living in a utopia but with all of our imperfections and warts, in the last 35 years, we have nevertheless raised living standards higher, faster and for far more people than perhaps any other country in the world.

The quality of life that we enjoy is in direct proportion to our social and economic success. If we are to continue our unprecedented economic and social success, we must boldly face up to some realities. Some of which I include in my wish list for the year 2001: Our Relationship With Each Other My first wish is that Bermudians, even when we disagree, should treat each other with civility, kindness and respect. We should measure our lives by the quality of our relationships and by our contribution to our community and not by our racial origin, economic or social status. Profound differences should not destroy our common interest. Let us show humility, self-restraint and patience, and refrain from using abrasive, intemperate and hurtful language.

Let us commit ourselves to the proposition that each of us as individuals must not only endeavour to make a better Bermuda but to make ourselves better too.

Our Economy My second wish is that our economy will remain strong. Bermudians, like people all over the world, are driven both by enormously powerful human aspirations for a comfortable standard of living and by a basic desire to make themselves and their families happy. But without a strong economy there is very little a country can do for its people, therefore: I wish for a strong economy so that we can continue to correct the real or perceived wrongs.

I wish for a strong economy to help those who need assistance.

I wish for a strong economy so that our dollar would not be devalued against the US dollar.

I wish for a strong economy so that Bermudians can have the money to send their children overseas to college or university.

I wish for a strong economy so that Bermudians can continue to travel overseas in the style that we have become accustomed to.

I wish for a strong economy so that able Bermudians will not elect to seek employment overseas.

I wish for a strong economy so that its benefits will be available to as many Bermudians as possible. If our economy was dislocated, it would be difficult to reverse based on the experience of other countries. It would take decades, if ever, for Bermuda to return to the standard of living which we now take for granted, In fact, chances are that future generations would not enjoy the level of prosperity that our generation has enjoyed. I wish for all of us renewed vigour and solemn rededication to strengthen the institutional structure of our economy and translate our economic success into social justice through better enjoyment opportunities, improving living and work conditions and thus enhancing the freedom and dignity of all Bermudians.

Tourism My third wish is that there is a remarkable recovery of tourism during the coming year. Some of you might think that this is somewhat wishful thinking, but the first step in re-establishing ourselves as a top quality resort and regaining a significant market share is having superb accommodations and excellent and courteous service. The Government is to be commended for making concessions to the hotel industry that have served as an incentive for the industry to reinvent itself, and my wish is that they will take other bold initiatives to continue to help revitalise this industry. If we had a couple of top quality new hotels open and the upgrading of the existing hotels in the next two to three years, it would go a long way to contributing to the recovery of our tourism industry. The properties of course, have to be complemented by top-notch management and employees who are polite, efficient and courteous. Generally, employers and employees should have as their primary objective to make guests feel welcomed. I have advanced the argument previously that if our market share of hotel visitors was significantly improved, then we should consider phasing our cruise ship passengers over time in the same proportion as our increase in hotel visitors.

It is generally known that the hotel visitor is far more of an economic asset than the cruise ship visitor. The reduction should be based purely on economic value with respect to the number of hotel guests as compared to cruise ship passengers. If we are to succeed in this worldwide tourism market, we must be competitive, innovative and carve out an exquisite niche market that generates a high income from visitors of upper income levels, because we are not able to compete in the market which caters to mass tourism because it would put an unacceptable strain on our infrastructure, environment and the social well-being of our people. International Business My fourth wish is that Bermuda continues to be one of the world's premier international business centres whose reputation has been carefully developed in the last 35 years. It takes a long time to create such a reputation. It takes no time to destroy it.

Once destroyed it will take decades, if ever, to build our reputation again.

We have created a social service system and a physical and technological infrastructure that can be compared with the best in the world. We could not have done it without a strong economy built on international business and tourism. It is incumbent on Government, business leaders, trade unions and the general public to understand the rapidly changing nature of international business and tourism. We must continue to warmly welcome international business by our attitudes, policies and practices. We have to apply all our creative energy to increase our share of the global market in international business and tourism to ensure economic success in the future and spread more widely its benefits. International business and tourism has uniquely defined our country and contributed so much to our extraordinary economic and social success. Some international experts are warning of an impending world-wide recession. In anticipation, we should now be developing strategies to strengthen the two sectors of our economy that will enable us to lessen the impact of a recession, should it occur. Our Educational System My fifth wish is that the country makes education our national priority. We cannot build Bermuda's future without a sound system of quality education, which keeps pace with change. I am convinced that the most urgent task our generation now confronts is to reinvent our public education system by establishing a more coherent quality curriculum for our schools and a more precise system of evaluation of all aspects of our educational system including teachers, students and administrators. We now need something far more imaginative and much bolder than the projections on a somewhat expanded scale of what we have already done. Therefore, my wish is for us to prepare our students to be better citizens and to feel good about themselves, their society and their work, thus be confident, happy and better people. Our educational system should have an unchanging set of core values to guide it. These values should, inter alia, include: Commitment to succession student learning.

Commitment to creativity and excellence of scholarship, teaching and service.

Commitment to change as an agent for creative growth Commitment to ethics, integrity, accountability, character and credibility.

My wish is that our economy and indeed our democracy sustains itself with an even more informed populace. If you want a democracy, Dr. Kenneth Clark said, "Instead of tyranny and violence, you must have an educated populace''.

Therefore, the transformation of our public educational system, in my view, is our most important task. City of Hamilton My sixth wish is for Hamilton to be even more of a mecca for good living, good food, good entertainment and unique shopping. Hamilton should be a place that attracts more visitors than it does at the moment. It should be bustling with activities, especially during the evening with high quality hotels, together with a state-of-the-art casino and other cultural, social and entertainment activities.

While maintaining and increasing the City of Hamilton's revenue, over time we should gradually move the cargo docks from Hamilton and the car park at Number One Shed and turn the docks into a waterfront promenade stretching from Number 8 dock to Albouy's Point. We could consider moving the docks to the North Shore in the general vicinity of Tynes Bay, Devonshire or some other appropriate area. This general location will be in close proximity to most business warehouses, many of which are located in the Devonshire, Pitt's Bay, Mills Creek and St. John's Road area. Trucks would therefore not have to pass through the heart of Hamilton. This would alleviate some of the congestion in Hamilton. With the reduction of cruise ships in Hamilton and the freeing up of the cargo area, Hamilton can become a substantial yachting basin, especially if Government encourages it by the reduction of the tax on boats and proportionally makes up the revenue by correspondingly increasing the annual licensing and mooring fees. I anticipate that local residents who keep their boats overseas would bring their boats to Bermuda and more people would use Bermuda as an international boating haven. Because of the increase in the number of boats there should not be any loss in revenue to the Government and Hamilton Harbour would become an all year round established yachting and boating haven.

With St. George's receiving a World Heritage Site designation from UNESCO and at the western end of the Island the Maritime Museum wonderfully complemented by the Commissioner's House in the Dockyard, together with other amenities at the two ends of the Island, these attractions will generally benefit Bermuda.

Now Hamilton needs to reinvent itself and create its own uniqueness and attractiveness. I have heard some people argue it should be the Monte Carlo of this region of the world, which attracts the rich and famous, and others who would come to rub shoulders with the rich and famous. Thus fewer people with greater spending power would put less strain on our infrastructure, environment and social well-being.

Our Security My seventh wish would be that Bermuda's crime rate would be significantly reduced this coming year. Even though Bermuda is one of the safest countries in the world, there is no solace for Bermudians or visitors who are personally violated, assaulted or have their property stolen.

The Police do a commendable job and now that the Police service is up to full strength they have got to do an even better job. Law enforcement is one of the corner stones of a civilised society. While it is readily recognised that locking up young people is often necessary, it is not the real answer to resolving our crime problems. This is evident because our recidivism rate is high as it is in most countries around the world. Bermuda's penal institutions are excessively full, not unlike the penal institutions in most jurisdictions.

We have to urgently address the problems of young people before they get into trouble with the law, because rehabilitation programmes here and in most other jurisdictions have not proven successful enough to have even the slightest impact on repeat offenders. This is not a simple problem to resolve. We need to do our own research, borrow the best international research and tailor a policy to meet Bermuda's needs. My wish is that the community as a whole undertake to rescue young people at risk before they get into trouble with the law. This is a vexed problem, not only for our country but also for most countries around the world. In this extremely complex social environment there are no simple answers. But there are a few old fashioned truths that children who are the products of two parent or single-parent homes where standards of behaviour, hard work, courtesy, charitable spirit and respect for others are instilled, with parents leading by example, these children more than likely will not end up in trouble. My wish is that we do far more research to clearly identify issues that lead to unsociable and criminal behaviour and develop relevant agencies for identifiable problems together with appropriate facilities and staff them with well-trained people who will make a difference.

Our Constitutional Reform My eighth wish is that before any constitutional reforms take place, they will be supported by an overwhelming number of Bermudians. The process must be seen to be fair and inclusive and only in this way, will reforms have any chance of uniting us. By way of background, the majority of independent countries in the Caribbean have a procedure enshrined in their constitution for making changes to their constitutions. This procedure includes two-thirds majority in the lower house by any bill proposing change, followed by a majority vote by referendum. Although our Constitution does not make provision for the procedure, this method has been enshrined in the constitutions of independent commonwealth jurisdictions and therefore should simply be by custom and practice in our jurisdiction. Most of the world's democratic governments only reform their constitutions by the overwhelming general consent of their citizens. A general consensus is highly desirable as we move forward to constitutional reform. The Government must be prepared to accommodate an overwhelming majority of Bermudians concerns.

Politicians have the luxury of people's faith and hope but also the burden of their concerns and expectations.

To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Bigotry, revenge and envy are poor chisels to carve out tomorrow''. My wish is for the Government to recognise that we are at a historic moment as the Government endeavours to build a new relationship with all of the Bermudian people. All of us must play our part and give practical shape to our common interests and shared beliefs that in a democracy we can differ and still be friends, partners and allies.

Disagreement amongst Bermudians does not mean one or the other group is less patriotic or less concerned about the welfare of Bermuda, the overwhelming majority of Bermudians are deeply dedicated to our country. My final wish is that, with respect, we acknowledge our differences but use the strength of all to behave in common to build together a future that we wish for ourselves and for future generations.

Sir John Swan, KBE, JP