1
2
meetings. Hence, consideration on a two pronged basis is given to any matters raised by District Boards concerning the Urban Council.
3
4
5
6
7
8
Furthermore, all these must be looked at in the light of the operating environment in the Urban Districts, which is different from that of the Regional Council. One must not forget
One must not forget that the new towns in the New Territories are many miles apart whereas the Urban District
the physical separation between districts could be as close as the
next street. In this context despite prospects of introducing
inefficiencies and controversies into the Urban Council, one might be
/
9
10
11
12
13
14
tempted to try out the idea of one representative per pistrict poard on the Urban Council. However, the indicated date of discontinuing Urban Councillors ex officio membership in the District Boards in 1989 should be given further consideration. Indeed, it would be
sensible to adopt a phased approach where the introduction of
15 District Board representatives on the Urban Council can be effected
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
2.5
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
in March 1989, the cessation of ex officio membership of Urban councillors and the District Boards could be reviewed before 1991 when the next District Board election is to be held. This phasing in
and phasing out process will permit evolution, not revolution to the Urban Council. This can be compared with the implementation of a computer system, where one would always adopt a parallel run approach by phasing in new elements into the system and phasing out old
elements. After all, the system can still be salvaged if the new elemen in a system do not function as expected.
On direct elections I said in my last speech that based on the findings of the survey report, even though change is not opted for in 1988, the way to move ahead is to lay down specific plans for future implementation. This is indeed identified in the White Paper with a commitment to introduce directly elected members in to this Council in 1991. Furthermore, having witnessed election campaigns last week, it is clear that ample time is needed for candidates to organise themselves diligently for the 1991 election.
The three years
ahead will be appropriate for candidates to prepare themselves to achieve a good standard of organisation exhibited in the last district
Board elections.