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power to regulate admittance of the public to the precincts of the Council Chamber as this power is already provided in the Standing
Orders.
The overwhelming reaction of the interested groups to this clause is that it should be redrafted to state the right of the public to observe proceedings of the Council, and to prevent
I consider these arbitrary use of power by the President. requests both legitimate and constructive.
I propose that Clause 8(1) should be redrafted to state in a positive manner the right of the public to observe the proceedings of the Councils subject to certain rules. To allay any possible fears that the President could make arbitrary rules, I suggest that there should be clear stipulations that such rules should be provided either in the Standing Orders or by resolution of the Council. By following the line of the Standing Orders, the words "strangers" and "as of right" can thus be removed.
As regards comments on Clause 8 (2) which concerns the issue of orders by the President, I agree with the representations that in addition to the qualification of "necessary and expedient", the purpose of issuing such orders should be clarified, such as for maintaining the security of the precincts of the Chamber, ensuring the proper behaviour and decorum of persons and for other administrative purposes. To further allay any misunderstanding about abuse of power, the word "order" can be substituted by "administrative instructions" which is exactly what
it means in the clause.
In line with the above proposed amendments, corresponding amendments should also be made to clause 21 (a), (b) and (c) which deals with situations under which offences would be committed by
members of the public
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Subject to the above proposed amendments, Sir, I support
the Second Reading of the Bill.