result of its work, the Opposition Senate Leader warned yesterday.

And Shadow Minister Without Portfolio Maxwell Burgess said this included recognising when it made a mistake -- as he felt it had done by creating the January 4 public holiday.

He stressed that the holiday in itself was not a problem.

The problem arose, he continued, when the Government stressed in its inaugural Throne Speech that it wanted to create an inclusive framework for all the people and then went ahead and created the holiday without consulting everyone concerned.

Sen. Burgess said the PLP should recognise that it made a mistake in doing this, learn from the experience and then move forward instead of making threats.

Only in this way could a new Bermuda result, he stressed.

And this was what the people had voted for, he pointed out.

The 1998 General Election was about people voting for the party they felt could provide them with social equity but the community had to realise that it had a part to play in making this happen.

Sen. Burgess made his comments during the Upper House's debate of the Throne Speech yesterday which was kicked off by Government Senate Leader Milton Scott.

Sen. Scott stressed that the social fabric of the community had to be reinforced and noted that after spending five years in the Senate, he repeatedly heard the same concerns being mentioned but they had not been addressed.

But he warned that there were no quick fixes and a collective effort from the community was needed to solve them.

Sen. Scott said the community could expect to see fundamental changes in immigration policy which would protect Bermudians but should not cause businesses alarm.

More Bermudians would also be encouraged to sign on with the Bermuda Police Service with the possible re-introduction of a cadet training scheme.

And basic social requirements such as twice a week garbage collection and affordable housing will be met while the hassle and expense of annual parliamentary registration will disappear.

The effort to revitalise tourism was under way and trimming financial wastage in Government departments -- he highlighted the Ministry of Works and Engineering as an example where this occurred -- was on the cards.

In education, every effort would be made to allow students to be able to learn and to allow teachers to teach.

The overall theme, stressed Sen. Scott, was the need for greater accountability of Government as Bermuda entered the Millennium.

This accountability was to all people, he noted, whether they be seniors in the Island's rest homes or children in the Island's schools.

Government was looking at re-installing Parish councils to help it address these issues on a community level and planned to look at making community sport clubs and youth organisations as strong as they were once.

Sen. Burgess threw his support behind the Government's plans and said the Opposition would do all that it could to see that their goals were achieved.

"Bermuda is at a crossroads. I can not think of a more unique opportunity or time to create this New Bermuda.'' However he warned the PLP that different people were expecting different things from them and that they should not send mixed signals to the public.

The PLP should define what expectations the people should have and set itself reasonable goals to meet.

It also had to define its responsibilities and those of the public.

He pointed out that families needed to accept their responsibilities toward creating a strong family unit and parents had to take responsibility for their children.

Senate vice-president Walwyn Hughes also backed the PLP's immediate suggestions including getting rid of Parliamentary registration and twice-a-week garbage collection.

He noted that while they did not seem important they were issues the community wanted to see dealt with.

Sen. Hughes also gave his support for PLP plans to look into education and to revitalise tourism.

However he noted that trying to return tourism to its standing in the 1980s might be unrealistic and trying to simply make it stronger than it was presently was the goal it should set itself.

Maxwell Burgess