Development and Opportunity yesterday, and sounded a warning that Bermuda could become the Hong Kong of the North Atlantic if development continues unchecked.

Speaking during the Senate's discussion of the latest budget for the ministry, Sen. Swan said the reason the Island now had a Ministry of Environment, Development & Opportunity was because of the untimely sacking of former Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson.

He said the combination of ministries -- which now includes areas such as parks, Agriculture and Fisheries, Planning headquarters, Community Affairs, Cultural Affairs, and Human Affairs -- was a curious one and was not the result of forward planning.

Sen. Swan said it was important to point out that the ministry now has conflicting interests and charged that Government had not put sufficient funds behind crucial departments like the department of planning. He said that leaving such areas understaffed actually led to greater social problems of overcrowding and all its consequences.

He said the conflicts arose when deciding on what was being developed such as housing in dense areas, or finding a suitable location for the Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) building while addressing the needs of the environment and its people.

He said the conflicts had implications for people's sociological and socio-economic well being and questioned what was in the best interests of the Island's residents.

"It is a challenge we have to come to terms with, how do we grow without being so expansive on our natural resources?'' he said.

He spoke about the increased strain on the ocean environment and said Senators had debated a Marine Resources Green Paper and asked what the policy direction would be and when a White Paper could be expected.

Mr. Swan questioned why the planning department had received only a three percent increase in the Budget.

He said that there were important vacancies in the department that monitor the expansive growth in the community.

"The fact that in Bermuda we are living so much closer to one another than ever before but understand each other less than ever before points to serious social problems,'' he said.

Sen. Swan said the forward planning department had their budget cut by 17 percent and that Government's claim of caring because it spends more on Social Services did not make sense.

Sen. Swan said that the Island was an entirely different place than the one he grew up in, and that there were no longer open spaces where people can go without seeing no trespassing signs.

He said: "When you live on an Island only 20 square miles, we cannot adopt the philosophy of countries with huge expanses of space.

"We need to look at how these countries grapple with urban development, and urban expanse through the country,'' he said.

Sen. Swan also criticised the "materialistic mind set'' of Bermudians and said they can take several trips a year and carry on being materialistic.

He said that it wasn't until around ten years ago when he was playing in the Dunhill Cup Golf Tournament in Hong Kong that the "cow bells started ringing'.'' Sen. Swan said that on the 45 minute trip from his hotel to the golf course, he almost cried, and said the memory had been implanted in his mind and he had never let it go.

What he saw were high rise buildings crammed with people, and horrendously cramped conditions in which people were forced to live on top of one another.

"Imagine doing a census in one of those buildings'' he said.

And he said that "sustainability'' must weigh into the equation, otherwise Bermuda would become the "Hong Kong of the North Atlantic.'' Despite raising several questions Sen. Swan spoke for almost his full allotment of time, leaving Government Senators about two minutes to respond to his concerns, leaving all his queries unanswered.