J
Sir,
Speech by the Secretary for Administrative Services and Information moving the Second Reading of the
Oaths and Declarations (Amendment) Bill 1985 in the Legislative Council on 1 May 1985
I move
that the Oaths and Declarations
(Amendment) Bill 1985 be read the second time.
On appointment a Member of the
Legislative
Council, whether Official or Unofficial, takes an Oath of
Allegiance under which he swears that he "will be faithful
and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
the Second, her Heirs and Successors, according to law".
In the context of moving towards more
retention of the mandatory
representative
government,
requirement to take this oath in its present form may be
undesirable.
It is therefore necessary to have an alternative
oath which could be taken by any Member of the Legislative
Council who does not wish to take the Oath of Allegiance.
This alternative oath would need to be a public
affirmation of duty to show that the Member accepts the
responsibility which he or she has incurred by appointment
or election.