32
Wednesday, October 31, 1973
Turning to the subject of information, Mr. Lobo welcomed the
process of consultation in the form of green papers on major proposals
before policies are settled.
"This procedure does ensure that the public will be given an
opportunity to offer comments and suggestions before final decisions are
taken," he said.
However, he felt that this procedure should be extended to cover
controversial matters which affect the whole community, such as the recently
announced Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill, so that
public reaction could be gauged before and not after the announcement.
This would also minimise uncertainty and speculation among the
public and dissatisfaction and resentment among the publicity media.
Hr, Lobo also suggested that certain "classified" papers could,
at the appropriate time, be downgraded to information papers.
He asked for a review of the classification of official material
so that more information on topics of public interest could be fed by
departments to the publicity media.
This, he believed, would do a great deal for public awareness of
local problems and boost community involvement in public affairs.
He also emphasised the importance of collecting and collating
public opinion and feeding back these assessments to government departments.
"In particular, the views and aspirations of grass roots sectors should be
ascertained."
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/On transport,