3.
SPEECH BY THE SECRETARY FOR HEALTH & WELFARE
IN THE LEGISLAITVE COUNCIL ON WEDNESDAY, 25 MARCH 1987
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third Party Risks) (Amendment) Bill 1987
Sir,
I would like to thank the Leg Co Ad Hoc Group led
by Dr Ip for having studied this Bill so carefully and for
their support for it.
2.
I fully agree with Dr Ip that a cost recovery
scheme should not be abandoned simply because of
administrative difficulties, although I think that civil
servants are quite right to question the appropriateness
of such a scheme if the administrative cost exceeds the
revenue collected. In fact, as the Ad Hoc Group is
aware, the Administration has spent a great deal of time
and effort in exploring various ways of increasing the
viability of the hospital expenses recovery scheme.
However, as was pointed out when the Bill was introduced
into this Council on 30 July 1986, the main argument in
favour of repealing section 8 of the principal ordinance
is that we see no justification for requiring insurance
companies to meet the costs involved in treating traffic