Parents must shoulder the responsibility of bringing children up in a law abiding way, MLA Osbourne Bodden told the House.
It was not the job of teachers or the police to raise children, said the Bodden Town member as he made his contribution to the Throne Speech and Budget Address debate on Friday.
Maybe it was time that parents were held accountable for their children and that sanctions should be imposed against them, he suggested.
Children were sometimes woefully neglected by parents, he claimed.
There should be better pay and treatment for teachers and discipline policies had to be tightened.
Things had gone downhill since the day the strap was taken out of schools, he claimed.
A review of prison services was needed and there was a need for proper rehabilitation, said Mr. Bodden.
There was also a need at the Fire Services, some of the staff of which appeared to feel they were not properly paid, that morale was low and that management was not playing its part.
Turning to the cost of living, Mr. Bodden felt the time had come for the government to have serious discussions with Texaco and Esso, and he thought the government would also look favourably at a company which was interested in providing electricity through taking advantage of different temperatures of water.
The cost of electricity was a huge burden on the country and a way had to be found to bring electricity bills down, he added.
Mr. Bodden said fuel suppliers had increased prices. It was not the fault of the dealers, who made very little on fuel, he told the House.
Insurance was also driving up the cost of living and there were abuses taking place over the cost of accommodation, he said.
Health services had been poorly run and that had resulted in money being wasted. There was also a need for a secure mental health facility, he suggested.
Mr. Bodden said he wanted to bring development and enterprise to other parts of the island.
He outlined some of the projects coming to Bodden Town, such as a new civic centre, and spoke of the vision to bring tourism to the Eastern Districts.
A cure for the heavy traffic needed to be found and second main road through the island, at least from Frank Sound to Prospect, was needed, he said.
Pressures were being put on the UK by the European Union and this was being passed on to the Overseas Territories.
It was a test of the country’s faith and how much it could endure and he saw challenges on the horizon, he told the House.
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