Neletha Butterfield (PLP) picking up where she left off last week.

Sen. Butterfield said the Throne Speech saw the addition of more Government promises to those it had yet to fulfil.

"Don't make promises you can't keep,'' she warned.

She said while there were negative aspects of prisons there were also positive ones with several inmates becoming role models behind bars.

All was not well in sporting arenas and Government needed to be seen to be doing something, continued Sen. Butterfield.

There were sports clubs without homes who could be providing programmes to the community if they had a location.

They could also provide a source of recreation to young people, added Sen.

Butterfield.

And she said information about the Base lands and the National Sports Centre needed to be made available to answer people's questions.

Looking at tourism, Sen. Butterfield said it was essential that primary students be taught about the industry and its importance to the Island.

Meanwhile she expressed disappointment that there was no mention of cultural affairs in the Throne Speech.

What had ever happened to the proposed multi-purpose cultural events building, she asked.

She said this was needed to help promote cultural awareness.

Sen. Butterfield warned that local musicians were in danger and Government needed to create a plan which would help them.

She welcomed library renovations but asked how long they would take and what alternative measures had been put in place for the young people who used the facilities there.

Sen. Butterfield asked for facilities to be made more accessible for senior citizens.

She suggested putting services at the hospital for family members visiting sick, older relatives there so they could make future plans.

Turning to young people, she said there were some children who were not college bound and there needed to be job training initiatives in place to help them.

She said she was also concerned about the increase in teenage pregnancy and said a positive lifestyle had to be shaped and nurtured for children.

There also had to be a safety net in place, she continued, for those children whose parents were unable to support them.

Children also had to be educated and could not be allowed to play truant as without an education and skills they would never get a job.

This would mean the Island was simply breeding criminals, said Sen.

Butterfield.

In closing, she said the UBP had run out of ideas and initiatives and was ignoring people.

And she accused Government of being soft on a host of issues including Bermudianisation, racism, unemployment, franchises, women's rights and drugs and crime.

Sen. Gary Pitman (UBP) said tourism continued to be increasingly competitive and Bermuda was finding it difficult to compete with some countries that had cheap labour costs.

It was time for the Island to implement new thinking and products so it could re-engineer and rejuvenate tourism.

Government had been busy with the introduction of the Visitor Industry Partnership, the Jazz Festival, the Freeman Plan, putting tourism on the middle schools' curriculum and the new campaign -- Let Yourself Go.

This fully integrated marketing plan, continued Sen. Pitman, had been shown by an independent survey firm to be effective in increasing awareness of the Island as a destination.

There was also an increase in the number of people who said they would visit Bermuda in the next two years, he added.

And for the future Government was examining the Monitor Company -- known for its long range strategic planning skills -- to help take tourism into the future.

Sen. Pitman also warned that safety was an important criteria for visitors making travel decisions and crimes against them had to stop.

Turning to the Works and Engineering, Sen. Pitman asked why the Opposition had called for an in-depth survey in to the condition of Bermuda's roads.

This was already being done, he said, and the data was used to update the Ministry's five year road resurfacing plan.

He added that Bermuda's housing had also been assessed in 1991 and the Bermuda Housing Corporation was able to estimate the increase of units needed to meet housing demands.

However, the wild card was the non-Bermudian population. Rental issues were a delicate problem that was being worked on.

In closing, Sen. Pitman said the Telecommunications Amendment Bill was an ongoing initiative.

He added that he hoped the PLP's members in the Senate would be in synch with their party members in the House of Assembly when it was reintroduced.

Sen. Terry Lister (PLP) said he saw a vision that went wrong.

The early goal of the UBP Government was to raise the standards of life for all and some good things were accomplished.

But the Island lost its way as the goal changed to the pursuit of the lofty dollar, he said.

Bermuda was definitely a first world country with high standards and a modern infrastructure but drugs and crime were a problem in the community.

Sen. Lister said he believed crime was caused by the decline in education and tourism which led to a loss of jobs.

And Bermuda could not solve its crime problems without going to these root problems, he continued.

It was frustration that caused people to commit crime and Government had failed to address this.

Better deployment of Police would not deal with the underlying social problems whose resolution could reduce the need for more Police.

Focus was needed on upgrading people's education and the opportunities available to them, he said.

Turning to Sunday shopping, Sen. Lister said he was relieved Government had not allowed other types of stores to open on Sundays as it was not in the best interests of the family.

He asked when Government's review of the situation would be made public or if it had even been done.

Sen. Lister said he believed Government's plans to introduce stronger criminal legislation were good but asked where the rehabilitation programmes were.

Prisoners needed to be fit for re-entry into the community, he continued, and should also be put to work while in prison so they could learn job skills.

But when they were released they needed housing and jobs to go to as well, said Sen. Lister, as this would stop recidivism.

Sen. Lister also called for the treatment of sex offenders as a move to lower the risk of the offending upon release.

A possibility was sending sex offenders overseas for treatment just as addicts were.

Rehabilitation in the form of counselling was necessary for domestic violence offenders as well, he continued.

And Sen. Lister said the whole Island needed to be made a drug free zone, not just the areas around schools and community centres.

He added that these drug free zones should include alcohol as well and shops near schools should not be allowed to sell cold alcoholic beverages.

He said he would like to see Government take a stand on this issue and also make events they sponsored alcohol free.

Sen. Lister (PLP) also commended the Bermuda Land Development Corporation for making a decision independent of Government. He added however Daniel's Head should come under the control of the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Moving on, Sen. Lister said action and less talk was needed on a west-end recreational facility and any decision made in that regard should involve residents of the area.

Upper House examines role of international business From Page 8 The role of international business in providing employment for Bermudians also came in for discussion. Senator Lister said that while a good many Bermudians succeeded in education they did not always return home and find a job.

Sen. Lister also took aim at recent talk about tax reform, saying it would be one of the priorities of a PLP government.

And he debunked UBP scare tactics that a PLP would introduce an income tax, pointing out that Government's employment tax was, in essence, an income tax already.

"Government has already taken us there,'' he said.

It takes statements by Eldon Trimingham in the The Royal Gazette and most recently, calls by BIBA for tax reform, to get Government's attention, he added.

He also urged Government to keep its hands off the Bermuda Housing Corporation, saying it was doing a valuable community service helping accommodate those who could not afford decent housing.

He also called for an Internet review committee, saying competition in the industry would go a long way in bringing the price of a monthly Internet connection down to American or Canadian levels.

To ease the heavy costs on computers Senator Lister called on Government to treat computers as they would any other educational products, and to remove the duty on them.

The Senator then turned his attention to tourism, saying Government should provide a breakdown in its statistics indicating how many Island visitors are actually here on business and how many are here to holiday.

"Government should spell it out and let the people know,'' he said.

A new property would go a long way to reinvigorating the tourism malaise, perhaps inducing other hotels to "freshen up'' their facilities.

The Senators however commended recent expenditures by Grotto Bay and Elbow Beach in doing just that.

He however praised Government for including tourism in its middle school curriculum, calling it a strong and wise move.

Still there was a lot of work to be done in getting the industry back on its feet.

It appears he said, the Department of Tourism's Let Yourself Go campaign has not worked because it has been used to appeal to all people when it clearly was aimed only at the younger market.

In terms of developing the product Bermuda is lagging behind its competitors in marketing attractions such as water sports, he said.

Senator Lister also voiced fears that -- while consulting an outside agency such as the Monitor Group may be a good idea -- their recommendations could languish, unused much like the Report of the Commission on Competitiveness.

Taxation is also effecting the Island's tourism trade and Senator Lister called for programmes similar to that in the UK or Canada where visitors apply for a redemption of taxes paid while on vacation.

It is clear the tourism industry is clearly in a crisis said the Senator, and he called on Government to shore up its policies on cruise ships and product.

Bermudians he added, have to quit talking about their weaknesses such as cost and price, and start highlighting their strengths.

"We need to work on giving quality for money and put our weaknesses behind us.'' Speaking next, Sen. Noela M. Haycock (UBP) replied on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment and outlined three areas that department would be focusing on.

Easing the applications procedure for the Department of Planning and streamlining the system would be high on the ministry's agenda, she said.

Sen. Haycock also indicated the Department of Agriculture is in the process of confronting the threat of the pink mealey bug, which has recently ravaged several Caribbean jurisdictions and has been detected as far west as Hawaii.

Moving on, Sen. Haycock said the Department of Fisheries will maintain on-going mariculture research on Bermuda scallops, as well as continue its role policing the fishery.

Two new inshore lobster fisheries will be designated this year as well, the senator announced.

Moving to the issue of asbestos Sen. Haycock said Government had carried out extensive consultation with the Bermuda Biological Station for Research and the National Trust, but that the question on dumping had been deferred for the time being.

Meanwhile Opposition claims that dumping would contravene international marine pollution prevention acts were "absolutely not true.'' Asbestos, she said, was a geological material consisting of magnesium and iron silicates which had the consistency of fine sand. It was those particles that, when airborne, became dangerous.

Asbestos however did not dissolve in salt or fresh water. Government had selected a spot in the open ocean where the sediment was thick and muddy and where the asbestos, encased in concrete, would sink deep into the sediment.

In addition that area was characterised by a stable thermocline, meaning there was little movement along the water column.

Government Leader in the Senate, Mrs. Lynda Milligan-Whyte , then rose to rebut Opposition comments on the Throne Speech.

The difference between the PLP and Government was one of who best could manage Bermuda.

The PLP extolled an interventionist vision throughout their attacks on the Throne Speech.

The Opposition approach is paternalistic and free spending. Not once said Sen.

Milligan-Whyte, did the PLP talk about generating income.

Government has a responsibility to set standards and to make sure Bermuda is effectively managed, she said.

She also took aim at Opposition Leader in the Senate, Milton Scott, calling his comments on the Throne Speech entirely negative.

His attack on the prison system was a case in point, she said. Throughout he failed to mention the fact prisoners were in custody for a reason.

Throne Speech is revisited From Page 9 "These people committed crimes, but that was lost on him (Senator Scott). No wonder they say the PLP is soft on crime,'' she said.

While conceding some problems within the prison system, all the criticism ignores the good work being done there, such as the educational programming, she added.

Sen. Milligan-Whyte said 60 percent of those in the Police Service were Bermudian.

And 83 percent of officers between the ranks of Inspector and Assistant Commissioner were Bermudian, she added.

Sen. Milligan-Whyte said it was only a perception that the Police Service was top heavy with non-Bermudians.

It was a perception fuelled by the fact that the Commissioner was an expatriate.

"We are talking about a Police Service primarily managed by Bermudians for 20 years.

On education, Sen. Milligan-Whyte accepted there was a disruptive element in schools.

He said Government wanted to put in place alternative programmes for these youngsters, rather than throw them out of schools.

"Young people with discipline problems can be dealt with outside the class but in the school. I don't believe in separating children.'' Sen. Milligan-Whyte said it was not just Government's responsibility to deal with such youngsters.

Parents also had a role to play, she said, adding Government had recently put out a code of conduct.

Likewise with drugs, said Sen. Milligan-Whyte, it was not just Government's responsibility.

"We all have a collective responsibility to deal with the drug problem.'' Sen. Milligan-Whyte said Government had made it clear to the National Drug Commission the importance of harnessing the support of the community.

If children were not instilled with values by their parents, where else would they get them? From the street.

Turning to traffic, Sen. Milligan-Whyte said she hoped Senators would have an opportunity in this session to debate a national plan.

"The traffic problem is becoming a cause of great concern.'' Sen. Milligan-Whyte believed Bermuda may not have focussed enough attention on using the water to ease traffic congestion.

It may even be worthwhile looking at the possibility of bridges and tunnels, she added.

On Sunday shopping, Sen. Milligan-Whyte said the issue had been reviewed.

"It was decided Sunday shopping should remain. It's a feature of Bermudian life and Bermudians have got used to it.'' Switching to drug-free zones, Sen. Milligan-Whyte stressed Government was committed to eradicating drugs.

But there was a finite number of Police officers -- and it made sense to target more resources in the most sensitive areas, such as around schools.