Vexed Bermoothes

Bermuda’s Parliament is pretty out-dated and obscure.

• There is little forward visibility into the legislative agenda for the year, and it is hard for the public to get advance notice of the schedule even for specific meetings of the House.  What’s the big secret?
• It is difficult for the public to get advance copies of the legislation to be debated.  There is little room for public consultation.
• There are inadequate bipartisan committees – and most of those meet behind closed doors.
• There is no public Hansard (ie verbatim) transcript.
• Most votes take place by roll call, rather than by specific vote preventing us from seeing if our representatives are present for a vote or how they voted.

All of this leads to a vulnerable environment when one party dominates the House as oversight is diminished and checks and balances are gutted.  For this reason, I am happy to see the PLP back bench showing some independence.  Ironically, it’s a sign of some growing maturity in the PLP’s governance.  The credo must be “Bermuda first” not “PLP all the way” and certainly not the current “my way or the highway” leadership.

The Gazette reports today that the Premier’s controversial gambling bill has been delayed again due to his querulous backbenchers (and fears that a defeated bill would lead to a vote of no confidence).  It also refers to another parked bill called the Civil Airports Amendment that would give the Minister of Transport (aka the Premier) the ability to grant leases for up to 21 years without having to go to Parliament, as is now required.

Seems a bit specific, innit?  What’s the reason for this bill, that places it above the many other competing issues that are being ignored in Parliament?  Why should this check and balance be neutered – especially when we know plans for redevelopment of the airport are underway?

These are legitimate questions, not to be fobbed off with the ole Plantation canard.  The lack of information – combined with the track record – just raises suspicions.