XN000022-1995-02-23 — Page 9

Let me correct something that the Honourable Member said. I don't think that I've ever said that public opinion didn't support our Old Age Pension Scheme. I think public opinion by every yardstick that's been applied, actually did support and probably still does support our Old Age Pension Scheme. Most of the polls, and there have been several in newspapers as well as the television poll that the Honourable Member referred to, most of the polls suggested support of between 60 and 70 per cent and I dare say that in other communities and in other constitutional situations that would have manifested itself more clearly in the debate on the 9th November, but it can't be said that we can point to as extensive support as we require elsewhere and I won't go through the litany of our critics once again.

I can assure the Honourable Member that I would not be backward in coming forward with examples of great support if they existed because I would prefer to get on with a Scheme that we were advocating in good conscience last year and not spin from U-turn to U-turn. But the sort of support that we need hasn't actually manifested itself, or maybe it will suddenly remanifest itself in the debate on the 8th March, we shall watch out for that with great interest.

Secondly, the Honourable Member was very complementary about the skills of the Government in securing majorities in this Chamber. We have, from time to time, been able to secure majorities for important parts of our strategy. Indeed we've normally managed to secure majorities, but I don't think that we had the impression after the 9th November, that we were going to be able to get even a majority of one on this. But conceivably the 8th March will prove us wrong. I shall see.

Thirdly, the Honourable Member said that it was unfair for us to expect the Council to reach a view on the 8th March, without having all the details in place, but if we put forward proposals with all the details carefully worked out and in place the Honourable Member and others would probably accuse us of not properly consulting the Legislative Council and not being prepared to listen to views and to listen to advice. So we'd be hanged whichever course we followed.

I don't know a better course than the one that we are now proposing. We're not, and perhaps the success of our recent whipping would confirm this in the Honourable gentleman's estimation, we're not complete political innocents. We do actually understand some of the hazards of the course of action in which we're involved but as ever in life and politics there are hazards whichever options one follows and I do want and I think that a majority of this Council wants, and I'm sure that the majority of the community wants to try to sort this issue out one way or another before 1997. It's not going to be any easier in 1997, I didn't make a political point. The Government of the SAR is going to have lots of problems to deal with on its plate, as we do today, and if we can get this one sorted out before then I think that will be helpful to the future SAR Government and certainly helpful to the whole community.