The Senate discussed the Speech from the Throne and the Opposition reply yesterday during its first sitting since the February election, with new senators giving maiden speeches.

Independent senator Tawana Tannock welcomed the Progressive Labour Party’s goal to assist vulnerable groups.

She highlighted the lack of protections based around gender under the Constitution — a change that she called “overdue”.

Ms Tannock added: “I would think any constitutional review would start there, because any constitutional actions that are afforded to men certainly could be afforded to women as well.”

When it came to constitutional and criminal justice reform, Ms Tannock said she wanted extra protection for witnesses.

She pointed out that assistance for seniors would also entail helping those who were “differently abled”.

Ms Tannock explained that many rest homes were unable to take in people with dementia because their condition posed a security risk, forcing families to look after them.

She suggested that family leave be implemented to let people take time away to look after their ageing relatives and possibly their children.

John Wight, the Vice-President of the Senate, underscored the importance of building an improved education system.

He supported the idea of an independent education authority to oversee this transition while delivering “authority and accountability”.

Mr Wight said that public education was not as good as it should be and that Parliament owed it to the future of Bermuda to ensure it went smoothly.

He added that he favoured legislation that would bring more workers to the island.

Mr Wight acknowledged that this could add strain to the already-stretched housing market and hospital.

He said he was “a strong proponent” of increasing Bermuda’s working-class population — if not with local talent then with visitors on work permits.

He added: “The ratio of those working to support those not working in Bermuda is dangerously low, and this issue will only get worse until something is done to address it.”

New OBA senator Victoria Cunningham called for electoral reform, including absentee balloting, telling the Upper House: “The decline in voter turnout underscores the need for reforms that make voting more convenient and inclusive.”

Ms Cunningham voiced support for a more affordable Bermuda but said the Throne Speech goals needed to be realistic, with “practical, achievable solutions”.

She also backed the creation of an independent education authority that would be free from political interference.

Collaboration between parties framed much of the debate, with senators bookending many of their arguments with the importance of teamwork.

Marcus Jones, the Senate Opposition Leader, called the Throne Speech an “overinflated pamphlet, filled with recycled ideas — many of which were borrowed from the One Bermuda Alliance — and repackaged as new and improved”.

He added: “We have seen a number of these ideas from past Throne Speeches that have been long on promises, but short on delivery.”

Mr Jones went on to describe the Opposition’s reply as “a blueprint of national governance that would put Bermuda back on track to being a country of opportunity and prosperity for all”.

Kim Wilkerson, the Government Leader in the Senate, reminded the Senate that the Throne Speech was “a mandate to listen and collaborate”.

“It is not a platform,” she added. “It is what we will do in the next 12 months.”

Ms Wilkerson, who is also the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, said that many of the ideas in the Throne Speech reply were already under way.

She told the Senate that she did not see a “single original idea” in the OBA’s reply, adding: “On a thorough read, it is abundantly clear that they are fully on board with this government’s plans”.

UPDATE: this article has been amended to make clear that John Wight, the Vice-President of the Senate, never implied during his contribution to the debate that the number of people in Bermuda’s middle class was dangerously low