history'', says Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade.

But Government Whip Dr. David Dyer, in charge of shepherding Government legislation through the House, said Government accomplished almost 100 percent of what it set out in last November's Throne Speech.

And National Liberal Party leader Mr. Gilbert Darrell agreed with both men. It was a lazy year but more legislation was not needed, he said. Members of Parliament just needed to spend more time understanding and debating the legislation that was put before them.

Parliament finished its year last week, with a final Senate meeting on Wednesday.

MPs and Senators debated and passed a $355 million budget, updated company laws, created automatic speeding fines, tightened drunk driving rules and made it easier for authorities to take action against out-of-control dogs.

But one of their most important actions was the Trade Disputes Act, passed as emergency legislation on the last day the House met before its July-to-November summer vacation.

Many of Government's significant decisions -- such as its decision not to create an emergency unemployment fund, or its decision to begin an island-wide recycling programme -- did not involve enacting laws.

Government introduced many items for debate and discussion even when they did not lead directly to legislation: Government's Waste Management Programme, the National Drug Strategy, and the proficiency of the prison system.

Many of the most fiercely debated issues involved neither legislation nor discussion papers.

These included debates on institutionalised racism and the pros and cons of a Bermudian airline, which frayed tempers and led to the temporary expulsions from the House of PLP Shadow Ministers Mr. David Allen and Mr. Julian Hall.

Mr. Wade called it a do-little session in which MPs failed to earn their keep.

"I think it gets lazier each year,'' he said. "Under the John Swan administration it's been more sluggish than before. A lot of the work is done from executive order rather than the parliamentary process. It's almost as if he has a fear of Parliament.'' For MPs, Mr. Wade joked, "it's the greatest job in the world: You can raise your own salary and you don't have to work''.

Dr. Dyer disagreed. "The agenda was set out in the Throne Speech in November and 95 to 100 percent of it was accomplished.'' MPs always complain they have too little to do, he said, except when they are complaining they have too much to do.

"I don't think there's any less being done,'' he said. "The complaint comes every year, but when we have a heavy agenda there's always complaints that there's too much being forced too quickly. It's one of those Catch 22 situations.'' In fact, only one of the ten specific pieces of legislation listed in the Throne Speech -- the Human Rights Amendment Act -- was not passed by the House.

Mr. Darrell agreed with Mr. Wade that too little was done by MPs this year.

But the PLP and NLP had to share the blame, he said.

"It depends a great deal on the members themselves. We get bills that some of us don't even bother to debate like those to do with international business.

We let some of these bills go through the House in ten minutes.'' Opposition MPs should have done more to introduce their own legislation, he said. Even if it was defeated by Government MPs or amended beyond recognition, at least they would have made a stand and raised issues they believed were important.

"I think most of us just sit up there and wait for Government to take the initiative,'' he complained.

Mr. Wade said the House and Government failed to deal properly with many of the most important issues of the day, including education, tourism and the recession.

But Dr. Dyer said it was wrong to judge the success or failure of a Parliamentary session by the volume of legislation it handles. The legislation Government introduced was "substantial'', he said.

And much of the House of Assembly's work was reflected in debates and discussions that were not tied to specific pieces of legislation.

He said Parliamentary debate -- even when it is not tied to specific legislation -- helps the electorate by giving "an overview of the philosophies'' of the political parties in Parliament.