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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
With respect, however, to the proposers of this Motion, may I suggest that their recommendations be referred first, for detailed consideration, to the Hawkers Select Committee and the Finance Select Committee of this Council. May I further commend the Hawkers Select Committee to continue its deliberations and studies on the lines of the outline proposals so ably presented by its Chairman at our last meeting.
For these reasons, Sir, I oppose the Motion and put forward this alternate proposal.
CHAIRMAN (In English):—Mr. MACKENZIE, am I to understand that you are moving under the rules of debate that the matter be referred first to the Hawkers Select Committee, then the Finance Select Committee and subsequently to the Standing Committee of the Whole Council?
MR. MACKENZIE (In English):--Mr. Chairman, that is the general intent of my remarks.
CHAIRMAN (In English):-It has then been put by Mr. MACKENZIE that the Motion be referred under Standing Order 20, Section (16), Sub-section (j). So, now, does any other Member wish to have the floor?
MR. TSIN (In Cantonese): -Mr. Chairman, I heard the detailed debate by Mrs. ELLIOTT. As Mr. MACKENZIE said, I feel rather surprised, this should warrant a detailed report from the Hawkers Association and therefore I support Mr. MACKENZIE that the Hawkers Select Committee should make a detailed report on this and let all Members know.
MR. HENRY HU (In English):-As Chairman of the Hawkers Select Committee, may I express my full support to Mrs. ELLIOTT's motion. If this motion can be accepted by this Council and successfully implemented, then it is a great step forward. It will not only greatly alleviate the hardships suffered by the hawkers but also facilitate the administration of controlling them.
If the construction of roofs over various hawker bazaars on both sides of harbour needs more than 10 million dollars, then this sum in my view represents about half of the money which can be disposed of by the Council in one financial year. The public of Hong Kong will now see clearly how little the so-called financial autonomy would mean to the work of the Council. I urge not only the members of this Council but also the public at large to wake up about the financial autonomy of the Urban Council.
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In conclusion, I would say that if this motion is adopted, the Hawkers Select Committee is willing to look further into various aspects of this matter.
With these remarks, I support the Motion in the name of Mrs. ELLIOTT.
MR. T. S. LO (In English):-Mr. Chairman, I agree with Mr. MACKENZIE that the matter should be referred to the Hawkers Select Committee. In this connection, as Mr. Henry Hu has just made his speech as Chairman of the Select Committee, I am afraid I do not quite understand why he is speaking in that capacity in view of the fact that this subject has not been brought up in his Committee. May I ask, on a point of order, should a Chairman use his capacity to by-pass his own Committee in this way? I think it particularly ought to be referred so as to allow it to study the matters referred to by Mr. MACKENZIE and also, if the Select Committee would not mind, to go into the question of distinction mentioned by Mr. BERNACCHI in seconding the motion: that is how to tell genuine hawkers from people who ought to be trading from suitable shops. I would like the Hawkers Select Committee also to go into this point in their deliberations. Thank you so much.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (In English):-Mr. Chairman, I am sympathetic to the sentiments expressed by the mover and seconder of this motion.
As Chairman of the Finance Select Committee, I must however point out to members that a recent estimate by the Urban Services Department of the total cost of providing hawker bazaars with a life-expectancy of one year or more with permanent roofs, surfacing and draining, water and electricity, would be in the region of $12.6 million.
This is a sizeable sum of money, and the proposals have not yet been considered by the Hawker Select Committee.
They will also have to be looked at by the Finance Select Committee in the light of the financial needs arising from new projects of other Select Committees.
I would have thought that the basic services, such as water, electricity, and surfacing and drainage, which could cost about $330,000, should be provided as early as possible.
With regard to the provision of roofs, some hawker bazaars already have roofs which were self-financed by the hawkers themselves. Perhaps
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