AS we think about the past year, we can't help but reflect on the major natural disasters that caused extreme human hardships around the world. In many instances, people's lives were drastically changed for ever.In this context, Bermuda has to be considered blessed. We live in an amazing country and we should not take our good fortune for granted. We have been given a precious gift that must be nurtured, treasured and improved upon.

Over the last 40 years, we have made significant strides improving the general well-being of Bermudians educationally, economically and socially. Most Bermudians are living longer, have better health care, better jobs, better housing, better education and an overall better standard of living.

If we are to continue to succeed in this ever-changing global world, we need to translate and accelerate our economic success into social justice through better housing for the least fortunate and better health care and housing for our seniors.

Good Government, the rule of law and market economics transformed Bermuda, which was largely an undeveloped rural agricultural community of the post war years, into one of the most successful countries in the world.

Our successful market economy paid for the general improvements in our overall quality of life. In the last 40 years in particular, our social, economic and educational progress has helped to enhance the stability of our community.

During this period the range and quality of social services, education, physical and communications infrastructure expanded dramatically. Therefore, educational standards and opportunities increased considerably enabling a high percentage of young men and women to attain a college or university degree.

We must not be paralysed by false modesty because Bermudians, together with non-Bermudians, have created a solid foundation economically, politically, socially, culturally and environmentally which makes Bermuda one of the finest countries in the world to live, work and raise our families.

We do not pretend to be living in a Utopia but with all of our imperfections and warts, we have nevertheless raised living standards higher, faster and for far more people than perhaps any other country in the world. The quality of life that we enjoy is in direct proportion to our social and economic success.

If we are to continue our unprecedented success, we must boldly face the complex realities of the global economy. All of our hopes, dreams, opportunities and aspirations are intrinsically linked with Bermuda doing well in this increasing complex global economy.

The major issues, in my view, that we need to accomplish in the New Year to further enhance the well being of all Bermudians are as follows:

[obox] Relationships: My first wish is that we make an individual commitment to develop more meaningful relationships first and foremost with our families and friends and secondly with the wider community which is essential if we are to have a harmonious society for our children and grandchildren.

Good relationships are the glue that will hold Bermuda together. We need each other if we are to successfully face the challenges of the 21st century. Even when we genuinely disagree, we should treat each other with civility, kindness and respect.

Profound differences should not destroy our common interest in wanting the best for Bermuda and Bermudians. Let us, in the coming year, renew our commitment to show humility, self-restraint and patience, and refrain from using abusive, intemperate and hurtful language. Let us commit ourselves to the proposition that each of us as individuals must not only endeavour to make a better Bermuda, but to make ourselves better too.

We must not let the past haunt us to the point that we become consumed with bigotry, revenge and envy. Constantly looking in the rear-view mirror impedes and impairs us from moving forward. It strips us of initiative, creativity, enterprise and dynamism and, in my view, it prevents us from achieving our potential.

We as Bermudians, black, white or whatever our ethnicity, are interdependent. We truly have a symbiotic relationship.

To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, we can either live together as friends or perish together like fools.

[obox] General housing: I wish for the New Year to see a tangible concrete action plan and meaningful progress being made by the Government to bring these proposals to reality in order to house our less fortunate.

I have publicly made suggestions, some time ago, for affordable housing and outlined the areas in which they should be built.

I merely want to reiterate that poor housing has an immeasurable social impact especially on young people. It adds to unsociable behaviour and it contributes significantly to our spiralling crime rate. It also inhibits children's ability to learn. Our housing needs to stretch across generations, i.e. the young, not so young, and the elderly need adequate residential accommodation.

q Seniors: As far as seniors are concerned, we should stop talking and indulging in the blame game and start acting, with some urgency, to make the lives of our senior's better. Our good works would stand as a testimony of our genuine concerns.

My second wish for seniors is, therefore, that we develop an action plan of policy initiatives to address the major concerns of our seniors which include housing and health care.

q Hospital and care for senior citizens: A new building to house the King Edward VII Hospital (KEMH) should be built on the site that now houses the Government offices from the present KEMH Point Finger Road entrance to Berry Hill Road which would include the nurses' quarters.

When the newly-constructed KEMH building is completed and occupied, the present KEMH building would be extensively renovated to house the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute (MAWI) currently at St. Brendan's. Also included could be provision for a medical facility for patients who require extended care.

MAWI (formally St. Brendan's) consists of an extensive amount of buildings on some 30 acres which could become a seniors' Community Village. Portions of the old section would be demolished with the remaining section converted to a Community Centre with recreation, medical and entertainment facilities and also include housing.

The remaining portion of the property would be used to build a village for shared living for seniors. The village would be used for permanent residents and day care for seniors with very strong occupational and therapeutic programmes.

My wish is that this suggestion should be given serious consideration by the decision-makers.

[obox] Education: I have written much on education over the last few years.

I want to say briefly that the inability of countries to provide high quality education has tended to increase the gap between the have and have-nots.

The ability to close the achievement gap, in my view, is the greatest civil rights issue of our generation. There is nothing more important than to help our children come to the table ready and willing to partake in a meaningful and beneficial way of the opportunities that are presented.

I wish for the New Year to see innovative ideas developed to raise the standard of education, particularly in our public schools.

q Economy: If we are to provide adequate affordable housing, first-class health care for our citizens, especially the elderly, a world-class education for young people, superb security arrangements for all of our citizens and visitors, and an array of other public services, than we need to have a continuous strong economy.

Social justice cannot prosper without economic success which requires economic growth.

Bermudians, at this point in time, have one of the highest living standards in the world. Bermudians are living longer, are more travelled and educated than in any other time in Bermuda's history. Nevertheless, we should not take our prosperity for granted because we depend on one industry — international business which is substantial but at the same time fragile. The United States and the European Union could pass punitive legislation that would not be advantageous for international business to come or stay here.

For our part, we must do everything to continue to create the social and political environment that the international and financial sectors require in order to continue to satisfy the needs, expectations and hopes of all Bermudians. Our economic survival now depends on it.

The economic engine of Bermuda is, therefore, driven primarily by non-Bermudians. They are the captains and owners of the international business including the financial sector. Moreover, our largest financial institution, the Bank of Bermuda, has become foreign owned. Therefore, the substance of our actions and our considerations together with the consequences must be in the context of this reality.

We should be welcoming to all of our guest workers who are only here by our consent through Government policy and whose labour plays an instrumental role in our prosperity. We should stop blaming them for all of our social ills. We need their services not only to do essential jobs, but their expertise and involvement in many charitable, voluntary and sporting activities.

My wish is that we should embrace all people not out of expediency or convenience but it is the right, the honourable, the principled and the human thing to do.

q Build facilities and create policies to stop the decline of tourism: Tourism and international business have uniquely defined our country and contributed so much to our extraordinary economic and social success.

However, in the last 20 or so years our tourism has been declining due to the quantity and quality of new competition coming online almost every year and our failure not to change the product in such a way to attract a new generation of visitors.

We have not had a new hotel built in the last 30 years and not had a major attraction for equally long. This is why we should feel so passionate about the Hamilton Waterfront project.

The Waterfront project is a major plan to transform our city into a vibrant, exciting environment in which to do business, visit, shop, relax and play. This will not only be to the benefit of local residents, but will be a major attraction for visitors to Bermuda. The Harbour Nights and the Music Festival at Dockyard stand as gleaming examples of this potential.

We owe it to ourselves and future generations to get behind the Hamilton Redevelopment plan and help make it a reality.

This proposal could be the oxygen that breathes renewed life into our tourism industry and will make a significant impact on our reclaiming our share of the tourism industry as well as create many semi-skilled, well-paying jobs.

I have spent a lot of time and some money thinking and talking about the project. I firmly believe this could be the most important project of our generation economically, socially, culturally and aesthetically. I would go as far as to say a significant part of Bermuda's future lies in the development of the City of Hamilton.

In order to reduce over-development outside the city, we should consider extending the city limits so we are able to enhance and intensify both residential and commercial development which would help to alleviate and impact on a positive way the current traffic congestion issue.

[obox] Black and white voices of discord: My wish for the New Year is that these self-righteous voices of discord would stop assuming that they are speaking for the respective majorities of the two racial groups with their hurtful, angry and insulting words.

The black and white communities must guard against being manipulated by these self-appointed black and white voices of discord which mitigate against any semblance of the two races working together for the betterment of Bermuda. Sometimes the pull of notoriety and the thirst for power converts sometimes well-meaning people into the worst kind of publicity seekers.

My wish is for the Government to recognise that we are at an historic moment as the need to build a new relationship with all of the Bermudian people is becoming of paramount importance.

All of us must play our part and give practical shape to our common interests and shared beliefs that in a democracy we can differ and still be friends, partners and allies. Disagreement among Bermudians and residents does not mean one or the other group is less concerned about the welfare of Bermuda. The overwhelming majority of Bermudians are deeply dedicated to our country.

My overall wish is that we acknowledge our differences but use the strength of all we have in common to build together a future that we wish for ourselves and for future generations.