The Premier yesterday announced the new make-up of a body set up to promote sustainability in Bermuda.

Arthur Hodgson, currently a practising lawyer, will remain as chairman of the Sustainable Development Roundtable (SDRT), which sees five new people among the 12-strong board.

Premier Ewart Brown said: "If you take a look at the biographical information of these members you will see that they care deeply about Bermuda because they have strong records of community service. So it's no surprise they would step up to help improve Bermuda's sustainability.

"You'll also note these Roundtable members have extremely diverse backgrounds.

"That's critically important because it is the underlying rationale of sustainability that the needs of every aspect of every section of our society must be considered and carefully balanced.

"I believe the people named today are properly equipped to educate the public and advise the Government on a sustainable future for Bermuda."

The SDRT is a body appointed by the Premier and its main role is to act as an advisory body to the Government and, through the Sustainable Development Unit (SDU), to make constructive recommendations to the Premier and Cabinet on specific actions to enable sustainable development.

The members are: Chairman Arthur Hodgson; Malcolm Kirkland who was involved in the start up of Save Open Spaces; G. Allan Hunt, President of Clean Islands International and ReCaribe, an international NGO and non-profit organisation, headquartered in the US Virgin Islands;

Dorcas Roberts, the Director of Preservation at the Bermuda National Trust; Pamela Barit-Nolan Executive Director of The Centre on Philanthropy; Diane Gordon, Executive Vice President of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and Francis R. Mussenden, President and CEO of the Bermuda Telephone Company.

The five new members are: the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment Brian Rowlinson; Ottiwell "Ottie" Simmons, a former MP and former General President of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU); Calvin Smith, the Research Officer of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) who created the government Department of Statistics;

Craig Simmons, a senior lecturer in economics at Bermuda College and Pastor Terence Stovell, the founding pastor of the Better Covenant Christian Fellowship.

The new members replace Dr. Pauulu Kamarakafego who died last year, Peter Everson, Amanda Outerbridge, David Chapman, Larry Williams, Dr. Eugenie Simmons and Aideen Ratteray Pryse.

Earlier this week the Premier told the House of Assembly that members of the original SDRT, whose meetings are not open to the press or public, were kicked off the independent board because they publicly disagreed with Government.

Dr. Brown, responding to criticism from the Opposition about his failure to reappoint certain outspoken members including environmentalist Stuart Hayward, said it had been hinted that such members lost their positions because they disagreed with Government.

"That's not true," he said. "It's because of how they expressed their disagreement with the Government – that's in the media. Our policy is that if you disagree with us, you express your disagreement where we appointed you."