The following is the conclusion of Friday night's debate in the House of Assembly.

Speaking on the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act, which was passed in the House on Friday, Shadow Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Patricia Pamplin-Gordon said: "'These people', as they are referred to, are our co-workers, our sporting associates, in most cases they are volunteers, and in some cases they are our in-laws,"

She said history would show the UBP stopped in 1989 granting around 40 people a year status because it was "on a lottery basis and not a sustainable process".

Government took a firm stand on the issue, even though there were complaints from overseas workers who expected eventually to get status.

She said Government's changes did not go far enough, because they only extended status to qualifying people who were Commonwealth citizens and excluded those from other countries.

And in the case of the 220 long-term residents who had been on the electoral roll since 1976, a double standard was being created.

The PLP "always cried foul whenever foreigners took advantage of the opportunity to register and influence the outcome of parliamentary elections" so many long term residents had not registered to vote or had fallen off the register.

She said it was unfair that those who had been here before 1976 but were not on the electoral roll should be denied the chance to get status.

She added that the bill penalised people who arrived just one day after the cut-off date of July 31, 1989 and it needed to be a little more embracing.

In response to questions raised by Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin, Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister said PRC holders could own businesses or seek social assistance if they fell on hard times.

He said the cost of the new certificate would match the $800 paid for the working residents certificate.

He said he did not know if people would have to pay again to get the new paperwork but he said given the low figure it was not a large issue.

Independent MP Trevor Moniz said that many people seeking status were not wealthy but were hardworking people on modest incomes.

He attacked the clause which denied the PRC to those under 40.

"People should be entitled to status outright." He said it would not add significantly to the number of people seeking new rights.

Mr. Moniz said foreigners were flouting restrictions on buying property by getting people "to front for them" which was helping fuel property inflation.

The Opposition attacked the clause which granted status to those on the parliamentary register on May 1976.

Opposition House Leader Maxwell Burgess said the PLP had urged Commonwealth citizens on work permits not to exercise the right to register to vote because it was unfair but now these people were being penalised for taking a moral stance.

However an Opposition bid to remove this clause was defeated.

Mrs. Gordon Pamplin raised concerns over the procedure for appealing the Minister's revocation of a certificate in the case of fraud or if the person is convicted of an indictable offence. She asked that the person should have the right to representation, the right to be heard and the right to an attorney although she noted that it had not been permitted in respect to Cabinet appeals in the past.

She also asked Minister Terry Lister to explain what proof the Minister would require as evidence that a person had committed fraud or an offence.

"We want to make sure people are not going to be subjected to a witch hunt," she said.

Minister Lister said that they would try to deal with the matters in the fairest possible way.