The Opposition Progressive Labour Party yesterday called for a bipartisan approach to Immigration reform but insisted that granting status to permanent residents would be unacceptable.In his inaugural Reply to the Budget Statement, Shadow Finance Minister David Burt called for a Joint Select Committee to review “outdated” immigration law.He called for a “balanced approach” and an “adult conversation” about immigration reform and criticised the Budget Statement for lack of vision and lacking measures which would promote a “fundamental transformation” of the economy.He recommended changing the structure of the economy by reforming occupational pensions legislation, the tax system, monetary policy, and debt collection.Employment practices which squeeze Bermudians out of the labour market should be reviewed, he added.“No amount of Government programmes will work if we allow our local labour to be displaced by cheaper foreign labour.”The Bermudian labour force must be increased over the long term, Mr Burt continued, by increasing the birth rate and “luring” members of the diaspora back home.The birth rate, he said, could be raised by improving the public education system so that fewer locals send their children to private schools.Mr Burt later told The Royal Gazette that the cost of private school education deterred people from having more children.Immigration reform was one of a raft of proposals to transform the economy.Bermuda should be promoted as a place for business, Mr Burt said as he commended Government for funding the Bermuda Business Development Corporation, a PLP initiative.Transforming the economy could also be achieved by executing the National Tourism Plan, he continued.But Mr Burt noted that the Budget Statement contained no mention of funding for the Tourism Authority, a referendum on gaming or a pledge to eliminate the post of Tourism Minister.And, he said, Government’s decision to form a Cabinet committee to speed up approvals was a PLP initiative but was referred to as political interference, bullying and corruption by the One Bermuda Alliance before the election.Turning to the need to diversify the economy, he expressed disappointment that the Budget Statement did not mention developing the “blue economy”, and he urged Government to follow through on the former administration’s efforts to establish new markets for Bermuda’s services in the Persian Gulf region, the eastern Asia, the Caribbean and Central and South America.Government should focus on long term infrastructure projects “that will transform our economy”, promote alternative energy and establish local capital markets.“Our Bermudian labour force is projected to remain constant while economic growth will demand that we have more guest workers on island,” Mr Burt said. “We need to be honest about the dilemma this will present and do the work now to ensure that the impact is mitigated in the future.“Tinkering around the edges with work permits is not enough, our economy requires transformation and we must have a system of labour regulation and immigration that will ensure this country can grow and succeed in the future.”The Shadow Finance Minister said that with economic recovery and “sustainable growth” more workers would be needed.But he warned that his party had a long-standing opposition to “the reintroduction of granting of Bermudian Status outside of our current laws prior to Bermuda becoming an independent nation”.“We support immigration reform as foreign labour and talent is vital to our economy and our future, but we will not support such reforms to be used as a pretext to extend status to PRC holders. That, Mr Speaker, is our red line.“Mr Speaker, that redline withstanding, we can neither close our doors, nor can we open the floodgates. We must engage in a balanced approach and have an adult conversation about this topic.”He criticised Government for reported comments made by their officials in the debate over term limits. “It is beneath the behaviour of the leaders of our country to refer to Bermudians thoughts and feelings as irrational; to accuse a former Government of making policy to ‘pander to xenophobic views’; or to imply that Bermudians do not ‘understand how this island functions’.“Furthermore, it is insensitive and ludicrous to imply that the only people upset about the OBA’s reversal on their election promise to suspend term limits are those that are unemployed.”Mr Burt acknowledged “mistakes” made by his party while in Government, including growing the civil service without improving its efficiency, and increasing taxes in the midst of a “crippling recession.”Economic Development Minister Grant Gibbons led the debate for the Government side, characterising the speech as “schizophrenic” which should have been named “we couldn’t but you should.”