opportunity'' drew Opposition scorn during the Motion to Adjourn on Friday.

Opposition MPs charged the trees planted by Works Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons and Environment Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons in mid-May had all died.

Mr. Nelson Bascome (PLP) said he predicted as much in the House of Assembly two weeks ago. Then, he read from a report prepared for Government by the Harvard Group and said tree planting should be the last step in rehabilitating the dump, pegged as future parkland.

Mr. Bascome noted that Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul had challenged his earlier comments. Now, Dr. Saul should visit the dump and "see those same trees,'' Mr. Bascome said.

"I challenge that Honourable Member to go back to that dump and look at that planting scheme and tell me what he sees of those trees that were planted.'' Shadow Environment Minister Rev. Trevor Woolridge said the "photo opportunity'' was a waste of taxpayers' money, because he said it cost more than $1,000 to plant the trees.

And it demonstrated that "the Government fails to plan what they are doing,'' he said.

Dr. Saul promised he would go and look at the trees. "I hope there isn't any evidence that anything that destroyed them didn't come from above, rather than below,'' he said.

One day, Government wanted attractive trees growing on the site, he said.

On Probation Services, Mr. Bascome said the department was understaffed.

Further, "I hear through the grapevine that the probation officers have been quite perturbed about the way the department has been run,'' and had pushed for a meeting about it.

Turning to recent media reports about a planned halfway house for released prisoners, Mr. Bascome criticised the media for not pointing out Government had been promising a halfway house since 1991.

In response, Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness said a review of Probation Services was under way because there were "some inefficiencies and problems that need to be rectified.'' There were "inefficiencies,'' not necessarily related to the people who worked there, he said.

He requested a report from Management Services about two months ago.

No decision had been made about where Probation Services would be located, though his department had not endorsed a recommendation of the Tumim Report that it be part of the Corrections department.

As for a halfway house, Mr. Edness said he had been working on getting one for the Island for 20 years. During the 1970s he worked in a civic capacity with others in the community to get "an ex-inmates association,'' but was unsuccessful.

It was true that Government had suggested the need for a halfway house in 1991, but "we're not always able to implement services when we would like to,'' Mr. Edness said.

"I don't feel ashamed or guilty for the fact we have not been able to implement it or get on with the implementation until this time.'' While on his feet, Mr. Edness commended Belco for the "drug testing for cause'' programme it had implemented among employees in safety sensitive areas. He had long advocated such programmes.

Random testing should be explored in transportation and other areas where safety was a factor, Mr. Edness said.

Mr. Bascome also took to task Youth and Sport Minister the Hon. Pamela Gordon , saying he had a "huge problem'' with the guests featured on the Teen Talk and Fast Forward youth television programmes funded by her Ministry.

The night before he had seen UBP Sen. Lawrence Scott on one of the programmes, and another time he saw Ms Gordon herself. He was concerned the programmes were being used to promote Government.

The programmes were funded with taxpayers' money, and the coverage should be fair and equal, he said.

In response, Ms Gordon said she was sorry Mr. Bascome felt "we would exploit our young people. Nothing could be further from the truth.'' The producers, the young people themselves, and community advisers were involved in choosing guests, she said. The Ministry and the Minister played no role.

"It is not of any consequence to us that it appears to the Opposition that you get a lot of UBP people'' on the programmes, Ms Gordon said. "Maybe the UBP people are the only ones talking of things that the young people want to hear.'' Sen. Scott was the public figure who had discussed the teen curfew issue and "young people were interested in his views.'' Ms Gordon also raised concerns about the number of young Bermudian men who found themselves on the "stop list,'' after having been charged with, though not necessarily convicted of, offences.

Some men in their 40s were unable to leave Bermuda after having trouble in their teens.

Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen complained about the way private companies were marketing Bermuda overseas. "Some might call it false advertising -- certainly misrepresentation,'' Mr. Allen said.

He referred to an advertisement for the Marriott in Travel Agent Magazine that referred to the beach at Castle Harbour as "the biggest and best beach in Bermuda.'' Lower down, the ad called it "Bermuda's biggest resort beach.'' But neither statement was true, he said. Of public beaches, Horseshoe was much larger, and of resorts, Elbow Beach was larger. Such claims did "a disservice to Bermuda generally.''