spokesman Jon Brunson said Government was doing nothing to address soaring house prices with the average home costing $1.2 million.

He said young Bermudians were working two jobs but were still broke. ?Does this budget address this issue??

He said this should be addressed in the social agenda.

Mr. Brunson also said sport had been neglected in the budget to which Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent interjected: ?What about the $7 million for the sports complex?? said the Opposition were carping about Government having unexpected extra revenue through stamp duty but this was a sign of a buoyant economy which it had helped to create.

And she said the fact that Government had needed to use less cash than expected was commendable.

She attacked the opposition for slurs about corruption and abuse and pointed out that Scotland Yard had come to investigate and come up with nothing.

The phrase unethical behaviour was subjective said Ms Webb,adding: ?What does this mean?? predicted the Island will be ?seeing a loss of jobs in a major financial institution effective at the end of the year?.

And the anti-social behaviour prevalent in Bermuda stemmed from frustration about a lack of jobs, ?it?s a vicious cycle? she said.

But if the Island thought ?my car, booze and cigarettes didn?t get taxed so we?re okay, jack? Then poor, poor us?.

Minister of Telecommunications and E-Commerce Michael Scott said ?a rising tide lifts all ships? and ?our budget is terrifically buoyant?.

Regarding the contested and profitable satellite rights, Mr. Scott said his Ministry intended to profit from Bermuda?s satellite rights.

He said the broadcast would originate at 96.2 degrees west longitude.

And from this location they will ?entertain satellite operations by leasing the slot for broadcasts coming from this location to the American continent, Alaska and Hawaii?.

?All efforts are underway to achieve this,? he said.asked whether people were better off now than in 1998.

?From 1992 to 1997 when the United Bermuda Party was in Government, Bermuda?s inflation was below the USA inflation rate. From 1998 to 2004 under the PLP, the inflation rate most of the time has been higher than the USA,? he said.

He said in 1998 two-bedroom homes cost around $500,000, in 2004 around $800,000.

In 1998, the cost of construction around $150 per square foot but in 2004 was $300 per square foot.

In the 2004 economic review it said: ?The international business sector is the pillar on which the Bermudian economy stands?.

But he said it was important for anything to have at least two legs.

Expenditure was up from $474 million to $711 in 2005, an increase of 50 percent.

An in 1998 hotels and restaurants were fifth in contributing to the economy, but in the latest economic review, they were in ninth place.

Visitor arrivals were 557,087 in 1998 and 477,753 in 2004, he said and visitors spent $439 million in 1998 but $292 million in 2003.

And the average worker pays $2,900 more in taxes than in 1998, he said and they built 500 units a year in the housing crisis, they built 220.

He said ?we built CedarBridge on time and on budget. Since 1998, we are still building the new secondary school, not on time and definitely not on budget?.

?It?s been tough living in paradise since 1998,? he said. asked how International Businesses would think about reading the ?corruption? in the budget reply?

He said Opposition MP Louise Jackson was trying to get political mileage out of senior citizens when he would keep such matters out of the spotlight.

But he said there was going to be a town-hall meeting about health in City Hall on March 3. said his main concern was for young people who were being priced out of the housing market and were moving abroad.

He said: ?Salaries go up three to four percent a year but homes go up 25 percent.?

Unless people were inheriting it was difficult to get in the housing market said Mr. Simons who said the price of a modest two-bed home in Warwick, Pembroke and Paget had risen from $275,000 in 1991 to $675,000 now.

Just since 1998 the same properties had gone up by 120 percent said Mr. Simons while salaries had gone up by 12-13 percent.

?How do you expect our young people to catch up??

He said Government was raising the issue of independence at the same time doing nothing to help young Bermudians get a stake in their country through property.

Instead they were setting up home in Britain and Canada where prices were affordable.

?Some are doctors, some are lawyers, some are bankers. Imagine blue collar workers who are not as educated... I think more energy must be focused in that direction.?Turning his attention to tourism he said Bermuda was spending around $73 per visitor through the tourism budget ? a figure far higher than Caribbean islands.

?We are obviously doing something extremely wrong.?

However he had praise for the duty breaks for farmers and for money allotted to open spaces but he said Government was silent about how it would clean up polluted Morgan?s Point which had suffered environmental terrorism.

He said other caves were polluted including one by the Government quarry.

Mr. Simons said Bermudians were not getting ahead in the international business sector and more pressure should be brought on this subject when companies set up.

He said one bright local accountant was now on her fifth redundancy, despite glowing testimonials from her employers.

?She?s very bright but they want their own people.? wondered why the Opposition were talking about a housing crisis after building only seven homes in the decade before their 1998 election defeat.

He said the last major housing project under the UBP had been Duck?s Puddle in 1989 while the PLP had built 191 homes from 1999 to 2001.

He said housing inflation had started with the rise in international business which had not been planned. said he was staggered to find tourism was in ninth position in terms of dollars contributed to Gross Domestic Product with international business putting in four times the amount of earnings.

He repeated his call for a tourism authority and welcomed new tourism minister Ewart Brown?s use of advisors from the profession.

Mr. Dodwell said the over-taxation had led to a windfall of $161 million for Government while businesses and individuals were struggling with the effects.

He said payroll tax was now at the level of some income tax in other countries.

The money should be put into housing said Mr. Dodwell with duty breaks given to private developers using Government land to build housing.

He called for economic empowerment of blacks and denied he was playing politics.

?You know what? It?s the right thing to do.? said trumpeted the duty breaks for farmers importing equipment. She said they will have to register but would not suffer from red tape on the docks when picking put items.

replied Government had ?invested in hard assets?.

She called the Opposition?s reply ?dead in the water? and said her first solo budget was ?protecting the longevity of the Bermuda?.

She was shocked and surprised that the Opposition posited as a future Government when they ?saw not to endorse term limits?.

?I remember when all I heard was call an election, call an election,? she said and said there were now ?flurries of activities in constituencies?.

Regarding the election, she said only one person (Premier Alex Scott) knew when the election will be called.

As a party, the PLP ?believes in sustainability in itself? and called her budget and the budget reply a ?tipping point ? to determine the sustainability of the party?.

?I think it is important to be thorough, however, if you look at the outlook of 2005-2006 there was strong US economic growth, higher increases in insurance and reinsurance, and a strong construction sector,? she said. ?Bermuda enjoyed better than expected growth in 2004?.

The outlook for 2005 is positive, she said and any windfalls would be reinvested back into the community.

Ms Cox said a Shadow Minister had ?bemoaned the lack of reference to sport in the budget?, but, she said, a $7 million capital grant had been given to the National Sports Centre and that Minister Dale Butler had the right to waive duty.

Referring to Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield?s speech, she asked whether anyone on the opposite side heard anything she said about CAPS, which was about the renewal of communities.

She said she heard ?political sleight of hand and slanderous things? during the debate.

A ?deliberate commitment to serve people was what the budget seeks to do? she said and accused the other side of not liking the ?levelling of the playing field...You had 35 years to do it!? she said.

Although touched by the endorsements of her colleagues she said the ?National Budget represents a compendium of intellectual capital?.

?I heard a lot of nonsense about what we haven?t done,? she said, ?But we have set our marker on the ground and are going to be following it!?