XN000022-1973-01-31 — Page 3

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Wednesday, January 31, 1973

It passed its third and final reading in the Council with a number

of amendments.

The Hon. P.C. Woo, who also spoke on the Bill, said that some of

the amendments stemmed from submissions received by the UMELCO Office.

He indicated that some further amendments would be introduced at a

later stage.

Mr. Woo stressed that the Bill, as amended, would definitely serve

the public interest as well as ensure that the obligations to be borne by

those commercial concerns which succeeded in obtaining a licence would be

both "reasonable and equitablo."

Amendments

In reply, the Attorney General, the Hon. D.T.E. Roberts, explained

that the amendments to the Bill were designed to clarify the law and to modify

some provisions which seemed impracticable and others which might bear "somewhat

unfairly" on one or other of the licensees.

He agreed that the prime object of legislation dealing with television

should be to ensure that "the public interest is best served by a highly

influential medium of communication."

But, he added, at the same time

within the limits necessarily

imposed by the public interest, "the legislation should, so far as possible,

preserve a fair balance between the various licensees operating television

services."

Mr. Roberts told Council that the Government was prepared to introduce

suitable amendments to several clauses which had caused some concern to Unofficial

Members.

/One of these