International praise for Bermuda?s openness and willing approach to help combat illegal money laundering and the financing of terrorism is to be matched by a promise that Bermudians will be allowed to see exactly what prompted such kudos.

That pledge was made as the Senate passed a new Bill was that makes the Island more open to financial checks and investigations.(PLP) said Bermuda had received some unwelcome press in Australian newspapers as it signed a bilateral agreement with Canberra to cooperate on tax matters and the exchange of financial information.

But the Island?s honour and reputation was upheld by the the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) when its financial chief Bill McCloskey said, at the conclusion of an OECD meeting in the Australian city of Melbourne: ?I know that Bermuda has been an early and active participant in global efforts to raise standards of transparency and information exchange in tax matters in fact Bermuda has played a particularly constructive role in our dialogue.

?I understand that both Australia and Bermuda are committed to ensure that their financial sectors are not used for money laundering or the financing of terrorism.?

The International Cooperation (Tax Information Exchange Agreements) Act 2005 was passed by the Senate yesterday and will now become law in 2006.

It gives the Government power to instigate agreements with OECD and European Union member states on an individual country-to-county basis.

The agreement with Australia, which was signed last month, marks the first that Bermuda has concluded in accordance with its June 2000 commitment to uphold the principles of fair tax competition set out by the OECD.

Bermuda already has such an agreement with the US that was made in the 1980s and is currently in negotiations with the United Kingdom and laying some ground work with Mexico.

While welcoming the new agreement and commitment designed to create a global level playing field for financial centres, Opposition Senate Leader said: ?I urge the Government to practise what this Bill purports when it comes to Bermuda. Certainly our only concern is that, to date, the agreement between Australia and Bermuda which this Bill embraces is not in the public domain or been tabled in either House.?

He said this was not in the ?spirit of exchange and transparency for which the Government has been receiving kudos from international bodies?.

Acknowledging the Government?s success in guiding and aligning the country with the OECD?s vision, Sen. Swan added: ?We take this opportunity to urge the Government to table this agreement so that all concerned can be appraised of how it exists and what it contains.?

In reply Sen. Tannock said: ?It is my understanding that there is no constitutional requirement to present the agreement but in the best interests of the community it will be presented to the people.?

Junior Transport Minister, said: ?We should be proud that our country is able to operate in the international environment creating relationships that benefit Bermuda, and we have the expertise on the island to go out and do these things for us.?

Several pieces of finance-related legislation were passed by the Senate yesterday in an effort to increase transparency within this sector and remove antiquated procedural requirements.

Introducing the Exempted Partnerships, Limited Partnerships and Overseas Partnerships Amendment Acts, Sen. Raymond Tannock said they would help Bermuda remain at the forefront of the industry.

The amended bills tidy up existing legislation covering these types of partnerships.