One glaring omission in the Government's Budget was the lack of any reference to the $11 million windfall that came to Bermuda in the settlement of the departure of the US bases.

While opinions varied widely over whether the Island got a good deal from the US on the bases, the fact is that Bermuda was given a considerable sum of money.

But there is no sign of the donation in the Government's Budget, either for last year when the money was handed over, or this year when one would have expected some decision on how the money was going to be spent. That suggests that the money has simply been put in to general Government funds to be spent on salaries and the like.

That's too bad, because the money was given for a specific reason - it was the equivalent of the replacement cost of Longbird Bridge - and even if the money is not used for that purpose, the public has the right to know how it s being spent.

At the same time, Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons has stated that Bermuda faces an environmental problem both at the former Naval Air Station and at the former Naval Annex. “This potent combination of asbestos, petroleum and toxic metals could threaten the health of our people and contaminate the Southampton water lens,” Dr. Gibbons said in his Budget Reply.

“You will recall that last year the Smith government signed a shameful, one-sided termination of the US Bases agreement, which saddled us with the $60 million bill for environmental clean-up. But this Budget fails to indicate when we can expect remediation of this environmental disaster and how the Smith government plans to pay for it.

“Nor does this Budget account for the one-time $11 million payment the US gave Bermuda to replace Longbird Bridge.”

There has been some disagreement about just how much the environmental remediation of the Bases will cost. A study conducted when the United Bermuda Party was in power came up with the $60 million figure Dr. Gibbons cited. Since then, Works Minister Alex Scott has said the cost will be much lower, but has neither given a figure, nor, as Dr. Gibbons noted, said when or if the clean-up will happen.

In the Budget debate early on Saturday morning, Premier Jennifer Smith essentially accused Dr. Gibbons of being alarmist.

No, the presence of millions of gallons of oil in Bassett's Cave at the former Annex did not pose a threat to the Southampton water lens, she said. And the asbestos at Southside did not pose a threat either because it was secured. This is not good enough. Mr. Scott and Ms Smith need to tell the public exactly what the risks are and what studies have been done to substantiate their assurances.

And in the meantime, Finance Minister Cox needs to tell the public where the $11 million the US gave Bermuda went.