Video: Governor Reads 2013 Throne Speech

Crowds of people gathered on the grounds of the Cabinet Office on Friday [Feb 8] to hear Governor George Fergusson deliver the Throne Speech, which outlines the Government’s agenda for the upcoming year.

The speech — which was over 20 pages long — took just under one hour to deliver, and revealed a number of initiatives spanning crime, social matters, education, employment and more.

The crowd was silent for the majority of the speech, however applauded five of the social policy initiatives mentioned towards the end, and also applauded when a nod of respect was paid to former Premier Paula Cox.

The portions of the speech that earned applause were:

• “The Government will reopen a Medical Clinic to provide primary care for Bermudians who cannot afford health insurance.” [39.25 mins into video]

• “Amendments to the Human Rights Act 1981 will be introduced to ensure no one is discriminated against on the basis of age or sexual orientation.”[42.06 mins into video]

• “Government will introduce amendments to the Children Act 1998 to include a provision for Shared Parenting Orders.”[42.15 mins into video]

• “Government will introduce amendments to the Financial Assistance Act 2001 and the Child Day Care Allowance Act 2008 requiring mandatory life skills programmes, such as money management and parenting skills courses.” [42.30 mins into video]

• “Further amendments to the Financial Assistance Act 2001 will require unemployed, able-bodied persons, who would otherwise qualify for financial assistance, to participate in community service activities as a condition of continued eligibility.” [43.20 mins into video]

• “I take this opportunity to thank former Premier Paula Cox, first for the welcome and advice which she gave to a new Governor. And, second, for her work, with her Ministerial colleagues, on behalf of Bermuda.” [49.40 mins into video]

You can read the full Throne Speech text and highlights here, view a slideshow with 500+ photos here, 12 videos of Cabinet Ministers at the post speech press conference here, and all our coverage of the 2013 Throne Speech here.

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