Page 140 of 243
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Mr. Chairman, it is pleasing that we are able to do so, and I am sure that I am speaking for all my Unofficial Colleagues, when I say that we would like to make it a matter of record of these proceedings our appreciation of the work that you and your staff have done in the time since we last met in annual debate. In addition, the Council Section, with Mr. TINSON as Secretary, has unfailingly given us courteous and efficient service. Each one of us work with a different division of the Urban Services Department, but we have all enjoyed the co-operation that has been given to us. You, Sir, have impressed us in more than one way. You, Mr. Chairman, have inspired us by your tact and calm. You, Mr. Chairman, have intrigued us by the way you have applied Standing Orders. In the case where lady members are involved, you have been most chivalrous and you have set a new standard for the liberal interpretation of these Standing Orders. (Laughter). But alas, this has not been so with the men. (Laughter). You have grossly discriminated against us, and for that, Sir, I believe you have entered into correspondence with two of my colleagues. (Laughter). Like box and cox they have popped up at odd moments and you may be forgiven, Mr. Chairman, if you do not know at any given time who next will answer your letter. (Laughter).
Mr. Chairman, may I now move again the Motion that stands in my name. (Applause).
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI:--Sir, I rise to second the Motion this afternoon, but immediately and for the purpose of record, let me say that from our side of the house generally and from the Reform Club Elected Members in particular, we do not consider that all is well with the Government of Hong Kong. Like in so many things, there has been an awful amount of talking about local Government reform, talking both in Government Committee and on this Urban Council. We would press the Legislative Council to amend the Urban Council Ordinance within 6 months at the outset. We would like to see a considerably enlarged Local Government Council with the majority of seats occupied by elected members. We would like to see education brought under this Local Government Council. We would like to see clinics and the school health medical scheme brought under this Council. We would like to see Social Welfare regulated by and brought under this Council, and we would like to think that the present hotchpotch of Government public housing schemes was centralized under the Commissioner for Housing and answerable to this Council with separate divisions for resettlement, low cost housing and housing for the middle income group. The Housing Board was set up on the recommendation of a Working Committee, composed mainly of members of this Council to liaise and co-ordinate public housing. But it has now almost ousted this Council's work deciding even on priorities. The Chinese have an appropriate expression about seizing a worm and putting it inside you
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
257
(where it can do the most harm). Now with these suggestions the unwieldy system of the housing board sitting on top of the Urban Council, and the Housing Authority (who are practically the same persons) can be avoided and the Local Government is charged with all public housing including the assignment of priorities, subject only to the Executive Council's rulings. Only then will we be able to slaughter this worm. I agree with Mr. SALES that this enlargement should be timed and phased, but let us get on with it and let us take the first step of this enlargement now.
We would like to take over transport in the urban areas and, of course, have the Commissioner for Transport sit as a member of this Council. The time has come when this Council must have its own local government staff and its own means of financing, in all but capital projects. It is all very well for this Council to sit, indeed to spend many hours a week, resolving policies, even getting down to the particular circumstances of individual cases, when our decisions are not carried out on the ground, and this is what is happening at present. To give but two examples, the first relating to resettlement. The Resettlement Policy Select Committee almost against the Resettlement Department opposition, decided that for rooms that were being partitioned and shared resulting in a loss of part of the room as a common passage-way, a calculation of room density should be adopted closer to the real room density by taking notice that a part of the floor area was not really in the partitioned rooms at all. This took many months to implement on the ground and a date was quite arbitrarily taken, at first by the Resettlement Department itself, for when it should eventually come into operation. On the other hand, a change in policy about shops in licensed areas, that was advocated by the Resettlement Department and adopted as a policy by the Resettlement Policy Select Committee last month, came into effect, with the consent of the Policy Committee, on the 1st November. The other example is relating to hawkers. The problems with respect to hawkers are enormous, and I am pleased that the Select Committee has now been expanded to include the heads or senior officers of other departments involved in finding a solution. This expanded Hawkers Policy Select Committee is now going gradually through every part of the hawkers policies, but are the conclusions on hawker policies going to be any more implemented on the ground than they were before? Or will I be told again that the police have not got enough men or the Hawker Control Force is not large enough to cope with these matters? From the hawker's point of view, the hawker policies have not even been consistent in the past. Sometimes on a resite of a fixed hawker stall, the police and the Commissioner of Traffic allowed a parking meter to be given up so as to accommodate such a hawker. On other occasions, on a resite in the same street or in similar streets in the neighbourhood they don't? Sometimes there is no objection to a hawker being resited near a corner,
Page 140
Page 141
Page 141 of
1243
Page.
il
256
Page 140 of 243
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Mr. Chairman, it is pleasing that we are able to do so, and I am sure that I am speaking for all my Unofficial Colleagues, when I say that we would like to make it a matter of record of these proceedings our appreciation of the work that you and your staff have done in the time since we last met in annual debate. In addition, the Council Section, with Mr. TINSON as Secretary, has unfailingly given us courte- ous and efficient service. Each one of us work with a different division of the Urban Services Department, but we have all enjoyed the co-operation that has been given to us. You, Sir, have impressed us in more than one way. You, Mr. Chairman, have inspired us by your tact and calm. You, Mr. Chairman, have intrigued us by the way you have applied Standing Orders. In the case where lady members are involved, you have been most chivalrous and you have set a new standard for the liberal interpretation of these Standing Orders. (Laughter). But alas, this has not been so with the men. (Laughter). You have grossly discriminated against us, and for that, Sir, I believe you have entered into correspondence with two of my colleagues. (Laughter). Like box and cox they have popped up at odd moments and you may be forgiven, Mr. Chairman, if you do not know at any given time who next will answer your letter. (Laughter).
Mr. Chairman, may I now move again the Motion that stands in my name. (Applause).
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI:--Sir, I rise to second the Motion this after- noon, but immediately and for the purpose of record, let me say that from our side of the house generally and from the Reform Club Elected Members in particular, we do not consider that all is well with the Government of Hong Kong. Like in so many things, there has been an awful amount of talking about local Government reform, talking both in Government Committee and on this Urban Council. We would press the Legislative Council to amend the Urban Council Ordinance within 6 months at the outset. We would like to see a considerably enlarged Local Government Council with the majority of seats occupied by elected members. We would like to see education brought under this Local Government Council. We would like to see clinics and the school health medical scheme brought under this Council. We would like to see Social Welfare regulated by and brought under this Council, and we would like to think that the present hotchpotch of Government public housing schemes was centralized under the Commissioner for Housing and answerable to this Council with separate divisions for resettlement, low cost housing and housing for the middle income group. The Housing Board was set up on the recommendation of a Working Committee, composed mainly of members of this Council to liaise and co-ordinate public housing. But it has now almost ousted this Council's work deciding even on priorities. The Chinese have an appropriate expression about seizing a worm and putting it inside you
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
257
(where it can do the most harm). Now with these suggestions the unwieldy system of the housing board sitting on top of the Urban Council, and the Housing Authority (who are practically the same persons) can be avoided and the Local Government is charged with all public housing including the assignment of priorities, subject only to the Executive Council's rulings. Only then will we be able to slaughter this worm. I agree with Mr. SALES that this enlargement should be timed and phased, but let us get on with it and let us take the first step of this enlargement now.
We would like to take over transport in the urban areas and, of course, have the Commissioner for Transport sit as a member of this Council. The time has come when this Council must have its own local government staff and its own means of financing, in all but capital projects. It is all very well for this Council to sit, indeed to spend many hours a week, resolving policies, even getting down to the partic- ular circumstances of individual cases, when our decisions are not carried out on the ground, and this is what is happening at present. To give but two examples, the first relating to resettlement. The Resettlement Policy Select Committee almost against the Resettlement Department opposition, decided that for rooms that were being parti- tioned and shared resulting in a loss of part of the room as a common passage-way, a calculation of room density should be adopted closer to the real room density by taking notice that a part of the floor area was not really in the partitioned rooms at all. This took many months to implement on the ground and a date was quite arbitrarily taken, at first by the Resettlement Department itself, for when it should eventually come into operation. On the other hand, a change in policy about shops in licensed areas, that was advocated by the Resettlement Department and adopted as a policy by the Resettlement Policy Select Committee last month, came into effect, with the consent of the Policy Committee, on the 1st November. The other example is relating to hawkers. The problems with respect to hawkers are enormous, and I am pleased that the Select Committee has now been expanded to include the heads or senior officers of other departments involved in finding a solution. This expanded Hawkers Policy Select Committee is now going gradually through every part of the hawkers policies, but are the conclusions on hawker policies going to be any more imple- mented on the ground than they were before? Or will I be told again that the police have not got enough men or the Hawker Control Force is not large enough to cope with these matters? From the hawker's point of view, the hawker policies have not even been consistent in the past. Sometimes on a resite of a fixed hawker stall, the police and the Commissioner of Traffic allowed a parking meter to be given up so as to accommodate such a hawker. On other occasions, on a resite in the same street or in similar streets in the neighbourhood they don't? Sometimes there is no objection to a hawker being resited near a corner,
Page 140Page 141
Page 141 of
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.