Thorold Masefield yesterday.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly.

It is difficult to believe that almost two years have passed since the Progressive Labour Party Government's first Speech from the Throne was delivered in the Senate Chamber behind us -- so quickly have the days gone by.

Since that time, Government's achievements bring to mind Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who penned these words: "The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they while their Companions slept Were toiling upward in the night''.

Ministers and Civil Servants -- your longer working hours have not gone unnoticed by a grateful public who have observed the lights burning in Government offices long after the end of the normal workday.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, Another long and challenging Parliamentary year looms ahead as Government continues to deliver on premises, to standardise youth and elder care, to end the intrusive presence of gaming machines, to foster competition to improve the availability and affordability of health care and to establish good employment practices in the workplace.

Last year in its second Throne Speech Government revealed that the Civil Service Review Report would form the basis of Civil Service reform. In addition, Government promised to create a proper foundation for true educational success, and to rebuild the tourism industry in partnership with hotel owners and the Bermuda Industrial Union.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, Government has delivered on each of these initiatives. Site preparation at the Ridgeway location for the second senior secondary school is already underway.

The construction of the facility is scheduled to commence in January 2001.

The Berkeley Institute Senior School, with approximately 230,000 square feet in floor area, is scheduled to open for the academic year commencing September 2003. The hallmark of communications within the school will be a fibre optic backbone which will allow the best use of Internet communications technology.

Within Government significant and transparent change is well underway with respect to the Civil Service Review. The implementation of areas of transition is occurring in a focused and disciplined manner carried out by the Civil Service Executive. This group of senior officers is solely responsible for the implementation of the Civil Service Review.

Currently, stakeholders are being canvassed for input on a Code of Conduct and Conditions of Employment which will replace General Orders. It is expected that recommendation will be ready later this year.

Collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Telecommunications and E-Commerce will see free Internet access made available to the public through the Bermuda Library.

The year 2000 Census enumeration began this summer. However, a number of challenges -- including an increased number of households who refused to cooperate outright, or tried to avoid being enumerated -- have hindered the timely completion of the 2000 census. Consequently, legislation to extend the period of enumeration will be tabled this session.

As part of continuing efforts to develop the strong human resource base that is so essential for Bermuda economic and social development, Government formally launched the National Literacy Initiative on 8th September, 2000 to coincide with World Literacy Day.

The Initiative's key component is the International Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey, developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This survey will measure the literacy level of Bermuda's adult population, establish benchmarks and recommend programmes whereby literacy standards might be raised.

On the tourism front, the announcement of Conduit and of Gain Sharing within hotels are both demonstrable achievements of the alliance between Government, hotel owners, the private sector and the Bermuda Industrial Union.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and members of the Honourable House of Assembly, During the second Legislative Session, Parliament met a total of thirty-three times, sitting well into the summer to accommodate a growing legislative agenda that include the approval of 50 public bills, 12 of which were budget-related, 70 statutory instruments, 14 of which were budget-related, 37 private bills and a number of Orders, Regulations, Rules and Ordinances made under the authority of existing legislation.

In addition, Parliament approve ten land transactions involving the sale or purchase of land by Government and four Supplementary Estimates.

Legislation passed this year included an Act to ban the importation of Gaming Machines and breakout cards, the CURE Amendment Act, the Consumer Protection Act, The Criminal Code Amendment Act (dealing with sexual and violent offenders) The Volunteer Liability Act, The Private Roads, Improvement Act 1969 (Schedule) Amendment Order and the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act (to protect children born out of wedlock to Bermudian fathers).

This year, Government's legislative agenda is just as formidable encompassing changes to the Bermuda Constitution to allow for single seat constituencies and changes to introduce a measure of stability for long-term residents.

Government has a commitment to modernise our democratic framework in keeping with good governance policies. Accordingly, before debate in the House of Assembly, a public meeting will be held. This meeting will further explain the process surrounding constitutional reform to allow for single seat constituencies.

The 1999 Speech from the Throne mentioned Government's support for an Alternatives to Incarceration initiative. During the forthcoming Parliamentary year, Government will introduce amendments to the Criminal Code Act, 1907, Prisons Act, 1979 and Debtors Act 1973 to enable the Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative to be effective. A Drug Treatment Court, an effective regime for the community service orders and a fine enforcement scheme are among other initiatives that will be introduced.

The Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative represents a fundamental shift in how criminal justice offenders are dealt with and priority will be given to the further development of this initiative throughout the year.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, The Ministry of labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety continues to tackle many of the thorny issues facing Bermuda today in a manner consistent with Government's tripartite approach. Consultation with Government's social partners has been a hallmark of action on work permit policies, fair employment legislation and long-term residents. The Ministry has addressed these important issues head on and will continue to do so in the spirit of good governance.

As promised, Government has tabled a Green Paper on long-term Residents for discussion. Public meetings have been held and participation by the public has been tremendous. Once the Green Paper has been debated in the House, Government will bring forward a White Paper to bring closure to this sensitive and emotive subject.

The promised review of work permit policies continues. The input received from the many stakeholders who participated in discussions on the draft work permit policies, incorporated into a revised work permit policy with changes notified to the principal stakeholders. These policies will then be published on the Department's new website and circulated in hard copy to principal stakeholders.

With the launch of the Department of Immigration's website, a major improvement in the accessibility of information will be achieved. Green Papers, White Paper and any future discussion or policy papers will be readily available to the public electronically.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, The Bermuda Regiment has also been the subject of a major review. Government has accepted recommendations from this review that enhance the role of the full-time complement of the Regiment and are considering plans to reduce the size of the conscript component and reduce the length of service. Pending further study and consideration, these changes and further details from the review will be made public and amendments to the Defence Act 1965 placed before the Legislature.

Government is pleased to report that the Fairmont Hotels Exchange Internship Programme is now operative. This scheme will allow promising young Bermudian trainees and promising young Canadian trainees to work in each other's countries for a limited period. It is also noteworthy that one other hotel property has made a commitment to introduce a similar programme, which will encourage international job placements around the world the Bermudians on an exchange basis.

Legislation to allow for the automatic payment of fines for speeding offences up to 62 has been drafted and is currently being studied.

During the past year a more cooperative approach to contract negotiation has emerged, most notably in the hotel industry where agreements have been reached without the need for third party involvement. Government plans to continue the progress already made in tripartite forums by assisting the establishment of a rational and progressive approach to labour relations.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, It has become evident that the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), nobly set up to achieve transparent oversight of the Police Service, has not been able act in a fully independent manner. To remedy this and enhance its effectiveness changes to the Police Complaints Authority Act 1998 will be brought before the Legislature.

Government remains committed to ensuring that the safety of Bermudians, residents and visitors is maintained and improved through a Police Service that works hand in hand with the community, and is accountable to the community. Strategies for crime management and community policing will be unveiled in the near future and will help definite the future direction of the Police Service.

Bermuda can be assured that Government will pay serious attention to recently concluded commission of Inquiry into Serious Crimes Report and the recommendations contained therein. A response is currently being formulated.

It will be heartening for the community to know that there are a number of areas where the Government is already taking active steps to bolster the machinery for the administration of justice. This includes the plan to introduce the Police and Criminal Evidence Bill (PACE) in the forthcoming session.

Historically Prison has been asked to provide solutions to all problems in corrective services, a function for which it is clearly unequipped. Thus a review of Prisons administration to reflect changing circumstances in light of the Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative will result in revisions to Prison Rules 1980, which will be presented to the Legislature during this Session.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly, "Literacy Place'' was introduced as promised in last year's Throne Speech and has gained wide acceptance and acclaim. The emphasis on literacy in our schools, the implementation of the new system-wide materials of instruction and the concerted effort of Principals and Teachers are producing improved student performance. The recently released Terra Nova Reading test results in two of the four Primary School levels showed improved performance, and test results for middle schools showed improvements in two of the three levels.

This year literacy skills were explained to include numeracy with a new primary school mathematics text, Math Advantage 2000, introduced into schools in September and ongoing training and support provided to all primary schools teachers.

Added to these initiatives is a screening initiative whereby school nurses will screen Primary 1 students' hearing vision, motor skills, language acquisition and basic understanding of numbers and letters. The information gathered will be used to plan programmes and services for the students.

Last year's Throne Speech promised a plan to improve the safety and security of students and teachers and I am pleased to report that as part of the fire and life-safety upgrade programme for pre-schools, five pre-schools have been upgraded and the remaining six are in construction; one primary school has been upgraded, contracts for two have been awarded and the remaining three are in the design stage.

At the Senior School level, the XL partnership continues to play a major role and in addition, a Digital Bermuda course is now offered at CedarBridge Academy. The Technology Infusion Project (TIP) focuses on the training of teachers to enhance their teaching with a primary focus on desktop publishing.