HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, would the Commissioner for Resettlement grant compensation to the woman who has just had her shop redecorated and prepared as a meat shop at great expense?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I'm afraid I can't answer that question Mrs. ELLIOTT but I think the next step is to consider this question in greater detail in the Select Committee.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-In the meantime, Mr. Chairman, can I assure the lady that she will not be thrown out of her shop for being unable to pay the rent because she cannot open the shop door?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:—Yes.
(4) MR. A. de O. SALES asked the following question:-
Has the Government been advised of the suggestion made previously in this Council that a Civic Centre should be built in Kowloon having regard to the enormous demand for the facilities in our City Hall and considering the greater number of people who live there? If so, what is the decision?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:
Government was advised in December 1966 and again in December 1967 of your personal suggestion that a civic centre should be built in Kowloon but the Secretariat have notified me that no action was taken upon this suggestion as it did not reach them in the form of an Urban Council project but merely in the form of a suggestion made during the course of far-reaching annual debates. The Secretariat have further pointed out that even if the Council were to endorse such a proposal (which I have no doubt it will) it seems most unlikely in view of the many other claims upon the Government's financial resources that it could be given serious consideration at the present time unless, perhaps, it were possible for it to take the place of some other major Urban Council project, for example, the indoor stadium.
MR. SALES:-Mr. Chairman, may I thank you for your very clear reply. May I say, Mr. Chairman, through you, that I am sorry the Secretariat did not suggest to me that it would be necessary for a formal motion to be passed by this Council for consideration to be given by them.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN:—I think Mr. SALES that perhaps the best way to handle this sort of item, provided always that such items fall within the Council's jurisdiction and are made in the context of the annual debate, it would be best if such a suggestion could take the form of a proposal and could be written into the Statement of Aims, as it is this Statement which receives Council's endorsement. It would seem to me that since members cover a wide range of subjects in this annual debate, including those which are outside Council's jurisdiction, the inclusion of precise items in the Statement of Aims would be the best way in ensuring follow-up action.
MR. SALES:-Mr. Chairman, I will follow your opinion but I would like to make a statement at this time that in all my experience of the Urban Council, in the past on certain matters we have acted without the need of a formal motion, more so in this instance as the Secretariat recognizes that this is the sentiment of the Council, but if it is still necessary to put down a formal motion I have no doubt that the members of the Urban Council who reside in Kowloon will gladly do so with the support of their colleagues from the Island.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, arising out of this question may I ask a supplementary question? Do I understand from this that any matter which is raised in the annual debate is not the concern of the Colonial Secretariat?
CHAIRMAN: Certainly all matters that are mentioned in the annual debate Dr. BELL are referred to the Secretariat, whether they are within the jurisdiction of the Council or not, and I am sure they receive attention up there. But in this case, as they say, it was merely a suggestion and not a particular project.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:-May I say something to try to be helpful. I take this to mean that what is required is that this project should go forward as one of the Urban Council/Urban Services Department projects included in the Public Works programme and no more than that. That it should go forward just as if it were a general recreation ground or a park. There's no need for a motion, there's no need for anything. I think that this is how I read this reply.
MR. SALES: Well, that was my understanding Mr. Chairman, because I interpreted the feelings of my Unofficial colleagues on the matter and I thought that it would be given consideration departmentally and go down on the Public Works programme at the right time. I am thankful to the Director of Public Works for putting forward that view presumably in support of the sentiment of the Council. In the circumstances, there should be no need for a formal motion which I thought there would not have been in any case, but unfortunately the Secretariat lives in a somewhat different environment.
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MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, would the Commissioner for Resettlement grant compensation to the woman who has just had her shop redecorated and prepared as a meat shop at great expense?
COMMISSIONER for ResettleMENT: -I'm afraid I can't answer that question Mrs. ELLIOTT but I think the next step is to consider this question in greater detail in the Select Committee.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-In the meantime, Mr. Chairman, can I assure the lady that she will not be thrown out of her shop for being unable to pay the rent because she cannot open the shop door?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:—Yes.
(4) MR. A. de O. SALES asked the following question:-
Has the Government been advised of the suggestion made pre- viously in this Council that a Civic Centre should be built in Kowloon having regard to the enormous demand for the facilities in our City Hall and considering the greater number of people who live there? If so, what is the decision?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:
Government was advised in December 1966 and again in December 1967 of your personal suggestion that a civic centre should be built in Kowloon but the Secretariat have notified me that no action was taken upon this suggestion as it did not reach them in the form of an Urban Council project but merely in the form of a suggestion made during the course of far-reaching annual debates. The Secretariat have further pointed out that even if the Council were to endorse such a proposal (which I have no doubt it will) it seems most unlikely in view of the many other claims upon the Government's financial re- sources that it could be given serious consideration at the present time unless, perhaps, it were possible for it to take the place of some other major Urban Council project, for example, the indoor stadium.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, may I thank you for your very clear reply. May I say, Mr. Chairman, through you, that I am sorry the Secretariat did not suggest to me that it would be necessary for a formal motion to be passed by this Council for consideration to be given by them.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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CHAIRMAN: —I think Mr. SALES that perhaps the best way to handle this sort of item, provided always that such items fall within the Council's jurisdiction and are made in the context of the annual debate, it would be best if such a suggestion could take the form of a proposal and could be written into the Statement of Aims, as it is this Statement which receives Council's endorsement. It would seem to me that since members cover a wide range of subjects in this annual debate, including those which are outside Council's jurisdiction, the inclusion of precise items in the Statement of Aims would be the best way in ensuring follow-up action.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, I will follow your opinion but I would like to make a statement at this time that in all my experience of the Urban Council, in the past on certain matters we have acted without the need of a formal motion, more so in this instance as the Secretariat recognizes that this is the sentiment of the Council, but if it is still necessary to put down a formal motion I have no doubt that the members of the Urban Council who reside in Kowloon will gladly do so with the support of their colleagues from the Island.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, arising out of this question may I ask
a supplementary question? Do I understand from this that any matter which is raised in the annual debate is not the concern of the Colonial Secretariat?
CHAIRMAN: Certainly all matters that are mentioned in the annual debate Dr. BELL are referred to the Secretariat, whether they are within the jurisdiction of the Council or not, and I am sure they receive atten- tion up there. But in this case, as they say, it was merely a suggestion and not a particular project.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: -May I say something to try to be helpful. I take this to mean that what is required is that this project should go forward as one of the Urban Council/Urban Services Depart- ment projects included in the Public Works programme and no more than that. That it should go forward just as if it were a general recrea- tion ground or a park. There's no need for a motion, there's no need for anything. I think that this is how I read this reply.
MR. SALES: Well, that was my understanding Mr. Chairman, because I interpreted the feelings of my Unofficial colleagues on the matter and I thought that it would be given consideration departmen- tally and go down on the Public Works programme at the right time. I am thankful to the Director of Public Works for putting forward that view presumably in support of the sentiment of the Council. In the circumstances, there should be no need for a formal motion which I thought there would not have been in any case, but unfortunately the Secretariat lives in a somewhat different environment.
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