XN000022-1973-10-31 — Page 34

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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."

זז

/On transport,