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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1979
THE GOVERNOR ALSO POINTED OUT THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS VERY CONSCIOUS OF THE NEED TO BE IN DAY TO DAY TOUCH WITH PUBLIC OPINION AND TO RESPOND TO CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IN DRAWING UP ITS POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES.
ONE METHOD IS THE CONSULTATIVE SYSTEM WHICH OPERATES THROUGH COMMITTEES ON WHICH OFFICIALS AND UNOFFICIALS SIT TOGETHER TO CONFER ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
+ IT IS WELL KNOWN, WELL TRIED AND OF LONG STANDING, AND AT ITS BEST PRODUCES A VERY HEALTHY EXCHANGE OF IDEAS,+ SIR MURRAY SAID.
BUT OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS THE GOVERNMENT HAD PAID INCREASING ATTENTION TO THE VIEWS OF THE MAN-IN-THE-STREET ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS GENERALLY AND IN PARTICULAR TOWARDS POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES THAT WERE LIKELY TO HAVE A DISRUPTIVE EFFECT ON HIS DAILY LIFE, HE SAID.
+THE VERY URGENCY WITH WHICH WE PRESS FORWARD OUR PROGRAMMES IMPOSES UPON US AN OBLIGATION TO ENSURE THAT THE IMPACT OF THESE UPON INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE IS CONSIDERED, AND DEALT WITH IN A WAY THAT HAS BROAD PUBLIC CONSENT, SIR MURRAY SAID.
THE CITY DISTRICT OFFICE SCHEME, ESTABLISHED IN 1968, WAS POPULAR WITH THE PUBLIC FROM THE OUTSET, AND LAST YEAR WELL OVER THREE MILLION PEOPLE SOUGHT ADVICE OR HELP AT THE CITY DISTRICT OFFICES, HE POINTED OUT.
SIR MURRAY SAID IT WAS FROM THESE SAME OFFICES THAT THE AREA COMMITTEES AND THE MUTUAL AID COMMITTEES WERE STARTED. +THESE HAVE PLAYED A MOST VALUABLE ROLE IN INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DIRT AND CRIME THEY HAVE NOTABLY ASSISTED PEOPLE IN ADJUSTING TO LIFE IN HIGH-RISE HOUSING ESTATES AND HAVE PROVIDED A LARGE NEW CROSS-SECTION OF OPINION EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO DISTRICT OFFICERS,
HE SAID IT WAS ALSO ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE CDO SCHEME TO MONITOR THE PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS IN THE URBAN AREAS AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL AND TO ENSURE THAT ACTION WOULD NOT GO BY DEFAULT AS A RESULT OF UNSATISFACTORY CO-ORDINATION,
+UNLIKE THE NEW TERRITORIES WHICH HAD ALWAYS BEEN ADMINISTERED ON A REGIONAL BASIS WITH THE DISTRICT OFFICERS ACTING AS A FOCAL POINT FOR PLANNING AND CO-ORDINATION, THE URBAN AREAS OF HONG KONG AND KOWLOON HAD LARGELY BEEN SERVED BY DEPARTMENTS THAT DIRECTED THEIR FIELD OPERATIONS FROM CENTRALLY LOCATED OFFICES,+ HE SAID.
THE GOVERNOR SAID THAT IN SPITE OF THE GOOD WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE SINCE 1968 TO ACHIEVE BETTER CO-ORDINATION OF GOVERNMENT EFFORT, THE TIME HAD COME FOR A MORE UNIFIED APPROACH AND A CLEARER PERCEPTION OF WHAT THE LOCAL NEEDS OF A PARTICULAR AREA ARE - WHETHER THIS IS A DISTRICT, OR GROUP OF DISTRICTS, OR EVEN PART OF A DISTRICT.
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