TRAINING AND RE-TRAINING We believe in entrepreneurial government.

Mr. Speaker, the economy is going through a restructuring process. Businesses are downsizing and employees are being made redundant. One Front Street merchant has already put staff on a shortened three-day work week. While this is preferable to outright lay-offs, at the same time, one has to appreciate that while the incomes of these employees may have been significantly reduced, this is unlikely to have been matched by a corresponding reduction in their expenses. We must be mindful of the attendant social costs.

Many parishes have seen small businesses go out of business. I will single out Sandys in particular, which has seen about 20 small businesses go out of business over the last five years or so. This has impacted on the quality of life of those affected parishes and the income -- generating potential of the respective households.

Mr. Speaker, this highlights in dramatic terms the need to equip and to re-train personnel, so that they can adapt and re-tool themselves to cope with structural changes in the economy. The opportunities for those who are in the lower socio-economic brackets and who lose their jobs, lessen their chance to regain a solid economic foothold. Further, they may be less likely to have alternate sources of income, whether from pensions, investments or savings to cushion the blow.

The PLP offers plans not promises.

The intent of a PLP government is to introduce plans and programmes so that Bermudians can compete and win in the Bermuda economy.

President John F. Kennedy said in a commencement address at Yale University in 1962: "The central domestic issues of our time are more subtle and less simple than the large moral and political issues that commanded the nation's attention in earlier days. They relate not to basic clashes of philosophy or ideology but to ways and means of reaching common goals. What is at stake in our economic decisions today is not some grand warfare of rival ideologies which will sweep the country with passion, but the practical management of a modern economy.'' PENSIONS There is an increasing global focus on the provision of pensions schemes. The Former Health and Social Service Minister said that the combination of a shrinking workforce, earlier retirements and people living longer lives could leave Bermuda in the red for a long time to come.

Mr. Speaker, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report indicates the scale of the problem and urges governments to act fast. The political and economic fallout can be considerable. It is good when governments can approach the funding gap in various ways, but the longer they wait to act, the more daunting their task. We are pleased, however, that an island-wide pensions scheme is to be implemented.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, SPORTS AND RECREATION Socially-Conscious and Responsible Government Mr. Speaker, we need policies which create opportunities for our children.

There needs to be effective and realistic responses that reflect the need for inclusion and compassion.

The PLP has consistently advocated the need for a National Youth Corps. This could be developed through the Bermuda College and the Bermuda Regiment along with community sporting bodies.

Funding is needed to provide community centres in strategic locations such as Hamilton Parish, Pembroke, Warwick and Sandys, with a view to evaluating the current facilities. Some buildings have already been earmarked for development; others have been requested; and some totally demolished.

HUMAN AFFAIRS "Race prejudice is not only a shadow over the coloured -- it is a shadow over all of us, and the shadow is darkest over those who feel it least and allow its evil effects to go on.'' -- Pearl S. Buck Our view, Mr. Speaker, is that Bermuda is still a very unequal world. There is nowhere in the world where people enjoy complete equality. However we must do all in our power as legislators to see to it that equality of opportunity is available for all segments of the community -- that is the essence of a just and democratic society.

Mr. Speaker, this Government has never given Human Rights a significant place in its agenda. The current Minister who is also responsible for the Education portfolio has treated Human Affairs in exactly the same way his Government has -- as an adjunct sub-ministry deserving of frequent lip service but never warranting the time, money, energy or programmes of a major Ministry. The Government has set up CURE -- the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality and it has enjoyed a high profile, but it has no real ability to detect and correct. Rather it is being reduced to an agency which conducts public programmes, preaching to the converted. There would be a significant shift of emphasis under a PLP Government. We would advocate an expanded role for CURE, so that it could function as Government's official watchdog agency in the area of human rights. CURE would then operate with the benefit of its own investigative staff including legal counsel.

CONCLUSION Innovative and Entrepreneurial Government The growth in the international business sector, highlights the need for commercial properties, and the need for careful thought about the need for these properties given the existing infrastructure. We need to plan for the growth in the international business sector as demonstrated in the accompanying Exhibit B, which charts the increase over the last ten years if we are truly to maintain our competitive edge.

The International Business sector has already directly impacted on rental and housing costs for Bermudians. In fact we now see the Bermuda Housing Corporation, an organisation whose primary function should be to provide lower cost housing opportunities for Bermudians, seeking to renovate its Devonshire property to meet the needs of a more upscale market. As the number of international companies wishing to have a physical presence in Bermuda increases, there will have to be a close check kept on the ability of Hamilton, our city, to accommodate these types of companies. We need to provide domestic housing and to foster the right climate, towards public education that will work in tandem with the private school system.

Mr. Speaker, a PLP Government will clearly demonstrate what an innovative and entrepreneurial government involves; firstly we will be innovative, and secondly we will demonstrate marketing initiatives which are pro-active and will give priority to the needs of our people. A PLP Government will act promptly, and in a timely fashion to address those needs and concerns. It will seize the opportunities that arise, and turn them to the benefit of the citizens of this country. The Base Lands and Club Med properties would have all been properly utilised by a PLP Government. Small businesses will be promoted and developed as real engines for growth. Government through the benefits of a revamped educational system will adapt more easily to a fresh approach in marketing.

Mr. Speaker, as Shadow Minister of Finance and the person entrusted by my Party to initiate this response to the Government's Budget, I will end with a quotation by Helen Keller, I have taken poetic license and changed the last two words to fit our present situation. It now reads as follows: "It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire beating at the door of our hearts as we travel towards our immediate goal -- a PLP victory in 1997/98''