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F 323
CONFIDENTIAL
8
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28.
(a) Responsive Government
As long as good and reasonable government cxists, and as long as policies are formulated in accordance with the vishes of the majority of the community, the Government is in a good position to resist unreasonable pressure. With its various long term plans formulated in recent years in the fields of housing, now toīms, social welfare, education and rehabilitation and the improvements brought about ly labour legislation and in the standard of living and quality of life in general, the Government is now better able to face criticism then in the past. One of the by-products of such progressive policies is that Government is less vulnerable to criticisms by pressure groups.
29.
However, Government must not be complacent over achievements so far; programmes and policies must be constantly up-dated and refined to meet the rising expectations or the community.
30. Having acknowledged the potential for mischief of pressure groups, it is important to keep a balanced view (th dilemma of paragraph 4) and to try and place pressure groups in perspective by regarding them as a channel for constructive and informed criticism, and care should be taken to avoid over- reaction or treatment with undue sensitivity. As far as possible, an impartial detailed examination the issues raised by pressure groups should be arranged, and consideration bc given to the need to modify existing policies and practices if there is a case for such action to be taken.
This mossago
should be passed down to middle and lower-middle management levels.
(3) Publicity
31.
As pressure groups gencr lly thrive on publicity it is essential that special emphasis be given to publicising Government policios and actions. This should obviously not be done either with a sledgehammer or a whitosh brush. Acknowledgement of drawbacks and reakcesos in performance is at times just as important as the promotion of achievements and the sale of glossy brochures. Government radio and television programmes and departmental spokesmen must be realistic and be able to communicate at the appropriate level. Equally Govermont's case must not go by default and there is plenty of room for positive hardscll publicity to build up a background of an active, energetic but coring Government.
32.
Very often pressure groups choose to ignore or distort facts in order to support their campaigns. On such occasions, it may be good tactics to counter the statements and expose weakmesses or falsehoods by direct refutation and challenge. Careful timing and planning are essential and on major issues guidance from the Home Affairs and Information Group of departments should be sought..
CONFIDENTIAL
/33.
機密