Sir,
SPEECH BY HON. D.R. FORD, LVO, OBE, JP,
SECRETARY FOR HOUSING, IN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
ON WEDNESDAY, 17TH APRIL 1985
Mr. F.K. Hu spoke of better-off tenants in public housing estates. Mr. Wong Lam suggested that Government
should not take excessive care of people, who had already benefited under the public housing programme.
These matters have been the subject of debate in the Housing Authority and in the press for many years, but I will spare Members a replay of all the arguments which
have been put forward. I would however like to stress that
it is not the major administrative problems involved in making a change in policy which have hampered us in coming to a conclusion on these issues. What is much more important
is the possibility that any action taken to deal with the problem of better-off tenants could have far-reaching implications. We are not only talking about the well-being of a substantial proportion of Hong Kong's population. are talking about that sector of the community which has provided for many decades the power-house of the Hong Kong economy. Few would doubt that the subsidized public housing programme has been a substantial element in maintaining social
stability in difficult times. Nothing we do now therefore should put at risk the sense of security and well-being which results from the certainty of having a roof over one's head and a comfortable environment in which to live.
We
But this said I do not believe it is equitable that we should allow better-off housing tenants to continue to enjoy, as they have for so long, the heavily subsidized rents of the Housing Authority. This large group is now able to enjoy a much better standard of living than their
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