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hawker bazaars, but we are not, I think, the authority for finding off-street collection points and sites for bazaars. We have to rely on other departments to find them for us, and they sometimes just do not exist.
The Secretary for Home Affairs' speech is really completely confined to Mr. Lo's appeal for an Anti-sharp Practices Bill, but I would repeat, because I agree with it so much, his final paragraph—“it must be recognized that new laws involve more officials, more charges on public funds and more complications in the way of legitimate business --whether it be from a hawker stall or from a major hong" and I think the answer is in more community spirit and more staff on the ground. I must, in passing, congratulate Mr. Lo, not perhaps so much on this point, that the Secretary for Home Affairs bases his speech, but on his excellent analyses of the White Paper. He analysed it paragraph by paragraph.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, your own speech. Early on in your speech you commented about one member's most reprehensible and unseemly attack on other Members. Well, Mr. Chairman, you are Chairman, and if it seemed to you that it was any breach of Standing Orders, then surely you should have stood up.
CHAIRMAN:-By way of clarification, there was no point. The damage had already been done; copies of the speech were in the hands of the Press; and to do so would have been to no avail.
MR. BERNACCHI:-Thank you Mr. Chairman. I must apologize to the Secretary of the Council for mentioning his calculation of 50% of the rates because, of course, it did include resettlement management. But I still maintain that it is unrealistic to give us so little of the rates as proposed in the White Paper, and I fear myself that the net results will be to put pressure on us to institute, to initiate a proposal for raising the rates. I myself will be all against that proposal.
You said, Mr. Chairman, "that on the hawker front, we are continuing our efforts to tackle several basic aspects of the problem. Our first target must be the acquisition of off-street sites". I ask critically how? If that can be done, the hawker problem would be at least 50% solved.
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turned down, then apply for the Hawker Control Force. It should be so completely different that it is one or the other and not sort of just second best. But I entirely agree with you that until better man-power becomes available hawker black-spots will not improve. You say that steps are taken to tidy as many hawker black spots as possible, but the majority go back again to untidier conditions as before in a few days or weeks at the most, and I always say that it is more staff on the ground to carry out our orders and policy and directions.
I agree with you and, in fact, I said myself, that welfare problems are not hawker problems, but when you say the weak and aged and disabled should be looked after by welfare agencies, I say, by Government.
You did criticize Dr. HUANG for blaming the Legal Department, but surely the Legal Department and ourselves have different opinions when it comes to By-laws. We on the Hawker Policy Committee have had our differences with the Legal Department and I think it is this going through Department after Department that is one of our problems. I do not say it is a bad thing, but we do sometimes have differences of opinion with them as our advisers on the necessary By-laws.
As for Advertisement By-laws, I agree it was in 1952 that I came to the Urban Council and there was a proposal to amend the Advertisement By-laws in the very first few meetings that I attended. It was an old proposal even in that time and when you say "that when the staffing costs of several departments are known, the necessary staff have been graded, complemented, established, recruited and trained, it should then be possible to promulgate these By-laws", I think to myself that in ten years' time perhaps. I would prefer to have had it in a few months' time.
I must deprecate your almost personal attack on Mrs. ELLIOTT which was not included in the text copy that you provided me, very kindly, of your speech. I think the less attacks on our own Council members, in general the better for the efficiency as a Body. As regards your remark concerning the Council serving as a rubber stamp, I think it sometimes does, but it certainly does not do so now as it did ten or more years ago, I think that is a point in favour of the Urban Council and in favour of the expanding reform of the Urban Council even as contemplated in the White Paper.
With these words, Mr. Chairman, and I also include Mrs. ELLIOTT when I urge all members to vote for the Motion today.
CHAIRMAN: I will now take a vote on the Motion "that this Council endorse the Statement of Aims for 1972".
The question was put, the Motion was carried.
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