PLP Environment spokesman Leon (Jimmy) Williams entered the debate to say the rights of all Bermudians had to be protected.

And he slammed Government for being "uncaring'' and dangling a carrot offering citizenship to long-term residents before the Independence Referendum in 1995.

Mr. Williams said: "Is that a caring Government, Mr. Speaker? You don't tell people one thing and go and do another.

"Let's not make promises to people that we cannot keep. The United Bermuda Party Government have made many, many promises that they cannot keep.'' He said the UBP leadership had ruled since a period when Portuguese people had been downtrodden.

But Michael Dunkley , speaking from the Government benches, said Bermuda must be allowed "to keep flourishing'' and promoting expertise from home and abroad.

He said: "We can't take the view that everyone's fine in my camp so I'm not worried about the other side.

"I would stongly recommend that we consider status for long-term residents.

"The PLP's Green Card idea is just a glorified work permit without any control for our immigration department.

"Every member should seek feedback from their constituents and we must ensure that everybody is treated fairly as human beings.'' Dr. Ewart Brown , the PLP MP who has joint Bermudian/US status, criticised David L. White, Editor of The Royal Gazette , for an editorial calling for Police Commissioners to be recruited from overseas.

He said: "We have an Attorney General who is not a Bermudian. Now we have a Solicitor General who is not a Bermudian.

"And if the daily newspaper had its way, we would have a Police Commissioner who is not a Bermudian.

"Some would go as far as to say the Editor of the daily newspaper should not be a Bermudian.'' Dr. Brown, who represents Warwick West, said calls for foreign Police Commissioners sent the wrong message to young Bermudian Police recruits.

He added: "It's an insult to every member of this House and the Bermudian people to suggest that merely by being a Bermudian, one is disqualified from holding a responsible position.'' Government had "engineered the social demographics of this country'' to stay in power, he added.

Dr. Brown added that black employers and employees still felt discriminated against -- and Bermudians were developing an "unhealthy'' attitude to work because they saw expatriates take their jobs.

He said: "This work ethic leaves Bermudian employees less enthusiastic than they ought to be.

"The enthusiasm isn't there and we need to get it back. We have got to do something about the spirit of the people in the country -- and stop so many people clocking off work at 5.01.

"We have a workplace full of people who feel cheated and that they don't have anything to contribute to the employer's success.'' UBP MP Trevor Moniz , who has supported long-time calls for status from 20-year residents, said he was disappointed in the attitude of both Government and Opposition. He said Government should have followed through on their promise to grant status to long-term residents after the 1995 Independence vote.

But he added: "I'm also a little disappointed in the Opposition and their position still has not been made clear.

"Here we had two parties who could have gone forward hand-in-hand.'' Deputy Speaker Stanley Lowe came down from his chair to criticise Government for a "lack of interest'' in the issue.

He glanced over at just two UBP members on the entire Government side and said: "It's time Government showed some responsibility.

"I get the impression that some of them are treating this subject very lightly.'' Problem not a new one, Smith says He said non-Bermudians on work permits should be forced to train Bermudians for their positions.

"We think that everything's alright but there is actually a lot of resentment in the community,'' said Mr. Lowe.

PLP member Renee Webb said she would like to grant status to long-term residents "in her heart''.

But she added: "In spite of my compassion and my good intentions, I know you have to look at this situation in a realistic fashion. Reality is that the workforce currently holds 27,000 Bermudians. There are 2,034 non-Bermudians with 20 years' residence.

"That is almost ten percent of the number of Bermudians in jobs.'' Ms Webb said she supported giving long-term residents security but did not support granting them all status.

And she argued that if security was the issue long-term residents were concerned about then it should not matter to them if they had status or not.

But the important thing was that people knew what was happening, she continued, because the situation had to be resolved.

She questioned what would happen to long-term residents on the brink of 20 years residency in Bermuda who might have expectations of status.

And Ms Webb asked what would happen to the offspring of long-term residents who might have expectations of status also.

Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith said the PLP recognised its moral obligation to long-term residents as being part of the Country which had invited them here and then kept them here with continually renewed work permits. The problem was not new, she continued, there had just been a lack of will to deal with it.

She said she believed the long-term residents' desires could be met with a permanent residents' card.

Premier Pamela Gordon said she recognised that the issue was one of grave sensitivity but some people had not been looking at what should be done for the right reasons but for the politically expedient ones.

There had to be a concern that the Island's young people felt they were part of a community and that they had hope for tomorrow when they felt there was a risk that an influx of people might take away their opportunities for home ownership and employment.

It was important to note, she continued, that if Bermuda had not become such a wonderful jurisdiction to do business in and attracted so many foreigners then there would not necessarily be a long-term residents problem.

The affluent society that was created encouraged people to remain here, she added. If Bermuda was unstable in any way then it would not have a long-term resident problem.

But she noted that it would not be a case of opening the door to over 2,000 people as they were already on Island with jobs and housing requirements.

Legislative Affairs and Women's Issues' Shadow Minister Lois Browne-Evans noted that there had not been an election for over four years yet Government had still not brought a White Paper on the subject of long-term residents to the House.

What would happen if a General Election was called before a White Paper was produced? Would more promises be made in a "blue-print'', she asked.

Ottiwell Simmons (PLP) said a solution to the long-term residents' issue had to be found by the UBP because they were the responsible party.

However the Government had chosen to bring a discussion paper to the House and when Opposition MPs offered suggestions, they were vilified.

Ann Cartwright-DeCouto (UBP) said the Green Paper gave plenty of options under specific headings for discussion but MPs' contributions the debate would not be fixed in cement.

These contributions were simply suggestions that Government might wish to consider in its attempt to reach a decision on the policy it would finally adopt.