Minister of Development and Opportunity Terry Lister reached out to the business community yesterday to ask them to embrace controversial new racial breakdown regulations.

The Minister, speaking at a lunch held by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda, said that the Island must banish racism to move forward.

And he added that CURE (Commission for Unity and Racial Equality) was the first step in finding out what problems the country has, and then ridding itself of a legacy of mistrust, misinformation and fiction.

He said: "The voters of this country voted for change, and change is what they will get. Not change for change's sake, but change for the well being of the entire community -- not a select few.'' He said the country now had to do things differently, to get different results for the continuing prosperity of the country.

"We aim for equality of opportunity for all persons, we aim for meaningful race relations between all persons, we aim for the elimination of all forms of institutional racism, we aim for the elimination of racial discrimination in the workplace. We aim for the promotion of equality of opportunity.

"Racial discrimination is unlawful in Bermuda. We must openly denounce it, and commit to eliminating it from our shores. We must commit to fairness, equal opportunity and equality in the workplace.'' The controversial CURE legislation was stalled after Senate blocked the regulations following outcry from the business community about the amount of red tape the forms would create and a lack of consultation.

The rules are aimed at companies with ten employees or more, which have already had to register with the Commission.

The disputed forms asked for a racial breakdown of hiring, promotions and firings.

Employees were asked to give their race, salaries, position, any perks, and those applying for jobs would have to give their race and position applied for.

Business chiefs said they were not opposed to CURE itself, but to the forms and the detail in them.

Government has now set up a series of road shows to canvas public opinion and has asked for feedback from the business community.

They can now either amend the regulations and put them before Senate once again, or wait a year before the law allows them to by-pass the Upper House altogether.

Mr. Lister said: "Jackie `Moms' Mabley put it best when she said: `if you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.'' In his address, entitled, `Why Bermuda Needs CURE', Mr. Lister took the audience of 100 or so chartered accountants through a brief history of race relations in Bermuda.

He said that the first permanent settlers began to arrive in 1612, bringing blacks to assist with shipbuilding.

"Things did not go smoothly, so in 1623 an Act of Parliament was passed to `restrain the insolences of the Negroes'.

"There was unrest in 1656, when an aborted slave conspiracy resulted in all free blacks being banished from Bermuda.

"Later, in 1682, another slave conspiracy was put down. Sixteen years before the end of the century (1684), Bermuda was taken over by the crown.'' He added that in the 18th century, there were some interesting effects on the social fabric of Bermuda.

"In 1711, an order in council authorised the hiring of `as many blacks or slaves as necessary to crew ships larger than 44 feet.' "In 1719, rebellious slaves began the Negro-poisoning plot. As a result, Sally Bassett was executed.'' He added the first record of native Americans was in 1724, and Haitian mulattos were mentioned in 1795 for instigating a slave conspiracy.

The history books also show English joined a slave and free men of colour workforce to build the Royal Naval Dockyard in 1810, and in 1834, slaves were emancipated. He went on to cover the arrival of the first Portuguese, through the 20th century to the present day.

He added: "CURE needs a baseline of date which will allow for effective monitoring of equal opportunity in the workplace. This data will diffuse the legacy of the past, destroy the myths and anecdotal stories and allow CURE to suggest meaningful programmes that will improve equality of opportunity for the entire work force.

"It is time to do things differently. We must stop the `Window Dressing' and gather meaningful information so that we can all enjoy the benefits of the Bermudian economy. CURE is determined to ensure that the playing field is level in the employment area.'' In finishing Mr. Lister appealed to his audience and said: "Yes, Bermuda needs CURE, but more importantly CURE needs Bermuda. We are in this together, and I am convinced that the entire community will be the beneficiary.''