Opposition welcomes 'discriminatory' land policy reversal

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19: It can be argued that the PLP Government has done more to harm the Bermuda economy than any other single entity.

It drove up debt to the point that it now chokes our ability to respond to economic slowdown and help people in need, with debt interest payments now costing a staggering $190,000 a day.

It alienated international business people with careless words and counter-productive policies. It presided over a ten-year collapse of tourism as a meaningful arm of the economy.

The damage from its flawed policies has caused untold stress on Bermudian families, in the form of lost jobs for thousands, reduced pay cheques and shrinking business earnings.

The Government has been in damage control for most of the past year, scrambling to reverse policies that have not worked.

The rollbacks on land policy are the latest step in this process.

The One Bermuda Alliance welcomes the statement by the National Security Minister, but we shake our head at policy-making that has caused so much distress and damage.

Make no mistake; this was bad policy from the start.

It discriminated against Bermudians who happened to fall in love with and marry non-Bermudians, instantly making them second-class citizens in their own country.

It undermined the value of real estate owned by hundreds of families.

And it gave international business people one more reason to consider moving their businesses elsewhere.

The outflow of international businesses to other jurisdictions cannot be separated from the 2007 legislation, and every Bermudian who saw their rental income go down or disappear since should consider the cause.

The Minister, by stating that today’s policy reversal is intended to ‘stimulate’ the economy, is admitting the 2007 policy helped depress it.

The Minister, by stating the 2007 policy “unduly and adversely” affected Bermudians married to non-Bermudians, is admitting the discrimination at the heart of the policy.

We sympathize with the people who had to pay for a licence during this period. For many, it severely strained family budgets and was fundamentally unfair. Perhaps the Government can address their concerns directly.

The reversal of the 2007 land policy - a policy that went too far - is welcome.