Government is forging a new social contract with the people of Bermuda, Finance Minister Paula Cox said this weekend.

In her keynote address at the Progressive Labour Party?s annual conference banquet on Saturday evening, Ms Cox tackled internal dissension, paid tribute to her late father and refocused the PLP as a party of ideals.

Government?s vision, she said, ?embodies the ideal of what our country can be ? a view that rests on the assumption that all human beings, regardless of their differences of name, language, culture, religion, gender or sexual orientation must find genuine opportunity?, the Finance Minister said.

?We acknowledge that sometimes we, who exercise authority, may err in judgement and in action. Why else has this Government fostered and endorsed the concept of an Ombudsman Act ? the cat may look at a king and in fact heckle him. It is possible to challenge officialdom, i.e. those decisions that people believe were not made properly or fairly may be subject to challenge.?

Addressing criticisms that the Government has no plan, she said: ?If by a plan is meant a plan to continue the status quo, to maintain a business as usual approach, that seeks to make no mark, then by those standards, we have no plan.

?However, if by a plan you mean a platform of action that is grounded in equity, empowerment and that is framed to enable opportunity. If by a plan you mean a platform that is geared to outreach to those who have traditionally been locked out and to whom we now seek to include, then we have plans upon plans upon plans and programmes and policies ? all part of a multi-pronged strategy. A programme based on action.

?You can?t build a reputation on what you?re going to do. We are about the business of levelling the playing field.?

She said Government?s agenda for Bermuda ?transcends a plan?.

?This is a social contract ? our pact with and for the benefit of the people of Bermuda.?

Ms Cox asked the party membership for their ?unequivocal commitment? in helping Government deliver on the Social Agenda.

?It has been said that public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly.

?It must be a complete dedication to the people and then to the nation with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy ? consideration that consistent criticism is not only to be expected but sought, that smears are not only to be expected but fought, that honour is to be earned, not bought.

?Old forms of Governance are becoming increasingly ineffective. New forms of governance that are likely to be needed over the next few decades will involve a much broader range of active players. Government?s objective is to achieve a vision of an adaptive economy characterised by growth, employment and equity in the years that lie ahead.?

And reflecting on recent discord within the party, she said ?out of distrust, mistrust and betrayal, we can rise like a phoenix from the ashes. As Maya Angelou has said ?And still I rise.?

?Just make sure we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.?

She decried what she said was a tendency in Bermuda to expect immediate gratification.

?If we cannot solve a problem quickly, we lose patience, move on, place blame on the shortcomings of others rather than on ourselves. This crosses over also to our view of the Government,? Ms Cox said.

?Somewhat naively, we adopt a view that says that unless there is an immediate magic bullet and a quick fix, instant solution, then the PLP Government is not for real. Nonsense. Not good, Not good enough.?

Her father, the late Eugene Cox and first PLP Finance Minister, she noted earlier in the speech, had been prepared to ?sacrifice his life for the party he believed in?.

?He wanted to retire, to relax and to enjoy life under the cherry tree, yet he stayed, even when it was personally inconvenient and detrimental to his health,? she said.

?So let me state categorically that I have no truck, no patience, no sympathy with those who say that they are disappointed at the rate of progress being made by the PLP Government and that they are prepared to resign, to retire, retreat and to recant from all that the Progressive Labour Party stands for after just six years.

?That is not commitment, leadership or loyalty.?