form basis of response to Throne Speech The following is the full text of the Opposition's response to last week's Throne Speech, presented to the House of Assembly yesterday afternoon by Opposition leader Pamela Gordon.

Mr. Speaker, It is important for me today to talk frankly with you, bluntly even, about the future of this country and the choices we as a people have to make.

Two years ago, there was the promise of a New Bermuda with the election of a new government. The people were given hope. They were given the expectation that they would see a break from the past, a move away from the old ways of governing in Bermuda, and a greater voice in how our Island is governed and how our future is shaped.

Have the people been deceived? A true democracy, a modern democracy, Mr.

Speaker, moves forward with the increasing involvement and participation of all of its people. The plans of a truly modern and democratic government are not secrets to be kept hidden from the people, or to be shared in dribs and drabs with the people when it is convenient for the government to do so.

A true democracy, a modern democracy is not run by a small clique of Government MPs who call the shots, make the rules, change the people's Constitution, and do whatever else suits their interest. A modern democratic Government gives the people of the country the dignity and respect of telling them what its plans are, and trust the people enough to ask for their opinion and approval.

Every indication is that the majority of people in this Country think that major constitutional changes should not be made without a constitutional conference. There are growing indications too, that the majority of the people would support a right to approve the changes by way of a referendum.

So why won't this PLP Government take these simple, basic steps, in the interest of the proud principles they espouse -- namely transparency, accountability and democracy? Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: The United Bermuda Party does not support inequities in the voting system. The United Bermuda Party embraces the principle of one person, one vote, with each vote of equal value. The United Bermuda Party believes that the time has come to reform our electoral system to make it truly representative of and for the people of Bermuda.

It is important, however, that we make changes in a way that encourages the involvement of the people, not only in the changes themselves but, in the new parliamentary system that these changes produce.

The United Bermuda Party believes that significantly reducing the number of Members of Parliament concentrates too much power in any leader's hands. It creates an executive power against which those government Members of Parliament, not fortunate enough to serve in the Cabinet, have little power to oppose. It will make the government even more removed from the people than it is already. It is a bad choice.

The United Bermuda Party also believes it is a dangerous precedent to allow a Boundaries Commission -- whose recommendations can be modified by the Premier -- to decide how many Parliamentary representatives Bermuda should have, and how many constituencies there should be. The risks of this being abused by whoever happens to be the government of the day, to wipe out dissent and manipulate boundaries to keep themselves in power, are immense. This, too, is a bad choice to make.

Mr. Speaker, an even more dangerous choice -- a choice this PLP Government seems intent on taking -- is to empower a small group of government Members of Parliament to change the way Parliamentary representatives are elected in this country. The people, to whom all Members of Parliament are accountable, should be the final decision-makers. A simple majority vote in Parliament, by a minimum of twenty-one representatives, should not be allowed to amend a system, without the majority of the people giving their direct approval.

Changing the Constitution is not the same as amending a piece of legislation.

The two cannot be equated, not by any stretch of parliamentary imagination. To proceed as if they were - is not only flawed, it is insulting.

Almost all democratic countries are delegated responsibility by the people, to create legislation that allows for good governance in their country. However, that delegation of authority is taken back by the people when these issues affect their fundamental rights embodied in a Constitution. Almost all, democratic countries with written constitutions, have built in safeguards to require at least a two-thirds majority of the people to approve any changes.

There is ample precedent in Bermuda that constitutional change ought to be preceded by a constitutional conference. This was the case in 1966 and again in 1979. In both cases, constitutional conferences provided a way for broad input and submissions from the political parties and interested members of the public.

The United Bermuda Party Opposition is not proposing the people have a say in constitutional change just for the sake of making noise and providing opposition. The United Bermuda Party, as government, had an indisputable track record of consulting the people of Bermuda on major issues. We sought the input of the Bermudian people by way of two referenda -- one on the abolishment of Capital Punishment and the other on Independence for Bermuda.

The outcome of both is well known.

No matter how well intentioned you believe this PLP government to be, and no matter what political party you support, we believe that it is a bad and undemocratic practice, not to seek outright approval from the people on these major changes.

Will the Bermudian people be expected to allow any future government to change our voting system whenever and however it feels like, and to do so without proper consultation? Without seeking their approval in advance of making change? Without so much as recognising the precedent of a constitutional conference? Mr. Speaker, just as dangerous and undemocratic, is this PLP Government's decision not to discuss or even reveal the details of its plans to the people of Bermuda. The PLP Government seems loathe to seek the opinions of the people on this important subject; and will not bother to find out in advance, whether or not the people of this country approve of the changes the Government seeks to impose upon them.

Secret government, and government by decree, will destroy this country just as surely as it has destroyed other countries.

Remember, this PLP Government is proposing to change this Country's constitution with even less warning, less debate, less public explanation, and less public scrutiny than almost any ordinary piece of legislation. Do they take the constitution of this Country so lightly? Do they not trust our people at all? Mr. Speaker, this PLP Government has spent a great deal of time and taxpayer money at British Labour Party conferences. But it has apparently failed to realise that New Labour, unlike the Progressive Labour Party's version of a New Bermuda, is driven by trust in the people. To quote Lord Irvine, the British Labour Party's Lord Chancellor and leading spokesman on constitutional reform: `The world's democracies face many challenges in common. Public disillusionment with politics is one of the most critical. From country to country, our circumstances may differ, but we share a common challenge -- the perception by people that government serves the governors, not the people. It is the duty of those in government to demonstrate that democratic politics are not just better than the alternatives-but that they merit respect in their own right. The United Kingdom has suffered from a long drift towards even greater centralisation of political power. This has caused many to feel that they have little or no opportunity to influence the important decisions that affect their daily lives. The accountability of government to the people has been damaged by a culture of secrecy.' Mr. Speaker, this PLP Government has two slick and easy ways of dismissing criticism of its actions, or casting aside any suggestions that there may be different or better way of going about things.

The first is to say that it is a disgruntled opposition that wishes it were in power.

The second is to say that it is just white people, or black people who are sticking up for white people, who wish white people were in charge.

Mr. Speaker, I said I would speak frankly and bluntly. So let me say this. The days when a handful of white people ran this country are over. Forever. And no matter what happens, those days are not coming back. And let me say this clearly: There is no place in the United Bermuda Party for anybody who thinks that they can make those days come back. That is not a choice. That is not an option. That chapter in Bermuda's history is dead and buried. The PLP knows it, the UBP knows it, and the people of Bermuda know it. So let us not conveniently dismiss any criticism of this PLP Government's policies and actions by pretending they are based on race.

Bermuda's racist past must not be used to allow abuse of power in the present.

The refusal of the old oligarchy to involve the people of Bermuda in the decisions that affected them cannot be used as an excuse to continue excluding the people of Bermuda today. It has been said that before universal adult suffrage, the decisions of this Island were made at the bar of the Yacht Club.

Is that now justification for the decisions of this Island to be made by a different handful of people, behind a different set of closed doors? Over the years, too much has been sacrificed by too many people in the fight for rights and freedoms, for it to be thrown away so easily. Our people did not fight against oppression only to face new forms of exclusion. The people of Bermuda want a government that they can trust and respect. The people of Bermuda also want a government that will trust and respect them.

MODERNISING GOVERNMENT Mr. Speaker, the PLP Government, in its Throne Speech, claims that there are those who are unsettled by its efforts to modernise government -- another attempt to casually dismiss suggestions that there are better ways of running this country.

Many people in this country are unsettled that this PLP Government is taking us backwards into the distant past. A past where governments did not communicate, where governments did not consult the people, where governments did just what they wanted and the rest of the people bowed and scraped and shuffled along in silence.

It is not modernising government to put more power in fewer hands.

It is not modernising government to dictate major constitutional changes without allowing the people of this country their say and their vote in a referendum.

It is not modernising government to refuse to tell the people of Bermuda what specific electoral and boundary changes are being sought to impose upon them.

It is not modernising government to keep key public documents, like the civil service review that this PLP Government says is reshaping the country, secret from the people of this country.

It is not modernising government to refuse to speak to the media in order to keep the people informed.

It is not modernising government to allow a small group of government Members of Parliament to decide, without consulting the public or anybody else, how those members will be elected.

It is not modernising government to rush through major constitutional changes.

Pamela Gordon