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should ask the Director of Public Works whether he would wish to take over squatter control and clearance, or the Commissioner for Housing the management of resettlement estates. The answer in both cases would, I am afraid, be a very definite “no”.
And so, Sir, with this public expression of appreciation to the past and present staff of the Resettlement Department for their loyal devotion to unpleasant duties over the past 18 years, I support the motion before the Council. (Applause).
THE HON. F. K. LI, DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE (In Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, in rising to address this Council for the first time, I should perhaps first thank Members for their kind comments on social welfare matters in the earlier part of this debate.
It has made my task this afternoon much easier.
As Members know, the Government recently published a draft White Paper "Social Welfare in Hong Kong: The Way Ahead", which I hope will be issued shortly in its final form along with a Five Year Plan for social welfare development.
The importance of the White Paper is that it provides a concise, but full, description of how social welfare services should develop in Hong Kong. No one in Hong Kong wants to see rigid forward planning. Equally there is a desire to have a clear picture of the lines on which services like social welfare are to develop. I think I can reasonably say that the White Paper steers the right course between under-planning and over-planning, especially as the proposals in it will be open to annual review in the light of changing circumstances and expectations.
I believe I can fairly say that the majority view expressed in the earlier part of this debate on the White Paper is one of general welcome. The overwhelming response so far, especially from those involved in social welfare work in the broadest sense, has been one of firm support.
Against that background, I should like to respond to the specific comments made by members. Mr. Henry WONG referred to a number of proposals in the White Paper which he supported. I hope we can make quick progress with all of these. He also suggested that overall social welfare problems should be discussed between the Social Welfare Department and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. In fact, the White Paper was the product of a joint planning exercise with the Council of Social Service, so that I can assure Mr. WONG that the Council's views are represented fully in what is said in the White Paper.
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Mr. Kenneth Lo and Mr. Henry WONG both suggested that there should be more hostels for old people, perhaps in resettlement estates, rather than old people's homes in the New Territories. The future needs of the elderly are being examined at present by a Working Party comprising members from Government Departments, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and the voluntary agencies. I believe that the general line of their thinking—that the emphasis in meeting the needs of the elderly should be on "care within the community”—is very close to what members have in mind. The Working Party's recommendations are expected shortly.
Finally, Mrs. ELLIOTT welcomed the social welfare proposals, but hoped that "there will be a new breed of civil servants who feel loyalty not only to the head of their Department but to the public they serve". Mrs. ELLIOTT is quite right to emphasize that those working in the Social Welfare Department, as in other Departments, have a duty to the public. I believe myself that this is, and must be, an overriding duty. But I believe also that this is a duty that is already fully accepted and fulfilled by an overwhelming majority of civil servants both in the Social Welfare Department and other Government Departments. (Applause).
THE HON. J. J. ROBSON, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS (In English): Mr. Chairman, if I speak too long, too loudly and over far too wide a field in answering my Friends' questions this afternoon, I do so because it is my last opportunity of giving my Friends a taste of their own medicine. (Laughter).
My Friend, Mr. MACKENZIE, referred to the discharge of untreated sewage into our harbour. This is always a very powerful subject for the Council to discuss. The Public Works Department has, for some time now, been constructing long submarine diffuser outfalls to provide basic treatment, disperse and dilute these discharges in the tidal stream. When these are built the associated old outfalls are intercepted by what are called intercepting sewers which lead the sewage to the new submarine outfalls. Some of these schemes are held up because the associated intercepting sewers have yet to be constructed or they are affected by reclamation proposals and there are a number of minor discharges at the sea wall which serve areas having sewers too low to connect to the intercepting sewers: the outfall in Watson Road being one of them. However, the intercepting sewers will carry by far the greatest portion of the sewage and the pollution caused by the low-level minor discharges at the seawalls is considered to be very small and I should like to say here that the P.W.D., and myself in particular, has for some time been concerned that this level of pollution of harbour does not become worse. We want to maintain the situation where it
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