The Opposition criticised Premier Paula Cox for her response to a report on a $10 million overspend on a Government project.Ms Cox revealed on Friday that she could set up a special team to investigate her predecessor Ewart Brown’s emissions testing programme which overspent the money.She said she is to meet Auditor General Heather Jacobs Matthews to discuss the project following a damning report about it from the Public Accounts Committee [PAC].In a document released on Friday, the PAC stated that it was clear there was specific intent at the highest level of Dr Brown’s Tourism and Transport Ministry to give the initiative’s contract to Bermuda Emissions Control, a company partly owned by construction boss Dennis Correia, regardless of Financial Instructions rules.The PAC, chaired by Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards, stated: “The burning question is why. It is a question squarely in the public interest.”Ms Cox responded that was an extreme stance unsupported on the facts, but indicated she had concerns of her own about the project.“I can stand here before this Honourable House and state with great conviction that there will be no repeat of this type of performance under this Government,” the Premier told the House of Assembly last Friday.She pledged to carry out rigorous reviews where there are concerns over past projects, appointing independent investigative teams with forensic specialists if required.She told the House: “I fully intend to exercise this option and, as a result of the issues raised in this report, I will be meeting with the Auditor General and the Director of Internal Audit to discuss whether circumstances in this case warrant the appointment of such a team.“As Government we have extended considerable effort to address any deficiencies contained in the recent PAC report and we are committed to effecting systemic improvements to Government’s accounting and financial control systems and overall governance.”However, Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards criticised Ms Cox for her response when he tabled a motion to discuss the issue in the early hours of yesterday.Opening the debate at around 2am, Mr Richards said a special investigations team is “totally unnecessary” as such a team already exists in the PAC which consists of himself, Government MPs Walter Lister, Lovitta Foggo and Wayne Furbert, and One Bermuda Alliance MP Patricia Gordon-Pamplin.He pointed out that the PAC does not report to any Government Minister, but to the House of Assembly itself and has power to request paperwork and subpoena witnesses to get to the bottom of financial matters.“As the latest report indicates, we are going about our business to follow the money even further than we have so far. It’s not an easy job and we don’t have that many resources but we are using the resources we have to do the job,” he said.“Legally, we have that power. So the notion of adding extra layers of oversight really misses the point here. We don’t need extra bureaucracy and extra rules. We need Ministers to ensure that these rules be followed. That’s what we need.”Mr Richards complained that no one has ever faced any consequences for disregarding financial instructions and “there has never been any accountability whatsoever.”He added: “It doesn’t matter what fancy committees you form. If there are not consequences to breaching these rules, the rules will never be followed.”Mrs Cox defended her response, saying the Good Governance legislation passed by the House of Assembly last Friday speaks to her commitment to greater transparency and accountability in handling public money.She said it has “raised the bar” in terms of sanctions against those who ignore financial instructions.The new legislation means there will be a procurement office to ensure contracts are handed out fairly. It gives extra powers for the Director of Internal Audit to seize documents, introduces whistle-blower protection, and creates new offences for failing to disclose interests when awarding Government contracts.The legislation also defines and outlines the role and responsibilities of Government financial officers under the financial instructions governing them.She added that when she meets the Auditor General, she will ask her if the current legislation gives her all the power she needs.“If what we need is more then that’s one of the reasons why, when we discussed the Good Governance legislation, I said this is only the first phase,” she said.