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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The cost of establishing and manning a polling station is apparently high, and I believe that the Registration and Returning Officers, who are responsible for allocating polling stations, attempt to situate these in areas with a high concentration of voters.
I am informed that the situation remains the same today.
MR. BERNACCHI: Mr. Chairman, may I ask by way of supplementary, what I originally asked by way of principal question, I think in 1968, and that is, why cannot a mobile polling station, contained basically in a lorry, operate in the New Territories and move from township to township hourly or every two hours?
CHAIRMAN: This is not possible under the present Ordinance, Mr. BERNACCHI, as you probably know, because the polling station has to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at a particular place. I also gather there are other complications.
MR. BERNACCHI: But the present Ordinance can surely be amended?
MRS. ELLIOTT: Mr. Chairman, the voters I have met in these areas have expressed a desire to go either to Yuen Long or Tsuen Wan. This seems reasonable. Would you please put this before the Colonial Secretary?
CHAIRMAN: Certainly, Mrs. ELLIOTT.
(6) MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:
Is it correct that the Resettlement Department has recently issued instructions to tighten up on allocating resites to homeless people? Is the Government aware that the smallest room is now rented at about $200 and that even then such rooms are difficult to find?
Is this latest restriction due to a greater demand for resites? If so, would the Government please investigate the reason why so many people would rather live in a hut than in a room?
Does the restriction come from Government, or does it originate in the Resettlement Department?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:
I presume the question, in effect, refers to Class II Licensed Areas.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
445
The system of licensed areas replaced the former system of so-called "Resite Areas" in the implementation of the policy laid down by the 1964 White Paper, and it is now covered by appropriate provisions in Part VA of the Resettlement Ordinance.
It is not correct that the Resettlement Department recently issued instructions to tightening up on allocating resites to homeless people.
It is not within my competence to express any opinion on the remainder of the question.
MRS. ELLIOTT: Mr. Chairman, am I to presume that the Commissioner for Resettlement has no knowledge of a paper issued in December, and another in May, in which it says "you were instructed in May 1970 to process most stringently applications for admission in Class II Licensed areas" and then another one in December which says "in certain cases you can leave the people in the street for several days to observe if they are homeless". Is this not against the policy we had for 1964?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: Section 50(c) of the Resettlement Ordinance imposes upon me the duty to satisfy myself that applicants are homeless.
MR. BERNACCHI: Mr. Chairman, as a member of the Working Party that was party responsible for the 1964 White Paper, I am most surprised that any such instructions should have been issued if Mrs. ELLIOTT's information is right. It was certainly not the Working Party's view of this position. The fact that people are to be left on the street, winter or summer, to prove that they are homeless is disgusting.
MRS. ELLIOTT: Mr. Chairman, for clarification I give the reference. It is (92) in RD/2/107/59, and I don't care whether the people are needy or not, they can't get houses these days.
(Mr. Raymond Y. K. KAN left the meeting at this point).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Mr. Chairman, couldn't this be referred to the Resettlement Policy Select Committee and thrashed out there? I think it does seem to be important enough to warrant it.
MR. BERNACCHI: Mr. Chairman, I am sorry, but as Chairman of the Resettlement Policy Select Committee I accept the request unreservedly, and I would request the Commissioner for Resettlement to see that it is put on the Agenda.
CHAIRMAN: You appreciate, Mr. BERNACCHI, that the Commissioner for Resettlement is the authority for resites?
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Page 233 of 241
444
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The cost of establishing and manning a polling station is apparently high, and I believe that the Registration and Returning Officers, who are responsible for allocating polling stations, attempt to situate these in areas with a high concentration of voters.
I am informed that the situation remains the same today.
MR. BERNACCHI: Mr. Chairman, may I ask by way of supple- mentary, what I originally asked by way of principal question, I think in 1968, and that is, why cannot a mobile polling station, contained basically in a lorry, operate in the New Territories and move from township to township hourly or every two hours?
CHAIRMAN:-This is not possible under the present Ordinance, Mr. BERNACCHI, as you probably know, because the polling station has to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at a particular place. also gather there are other complications.
MR. BERNACCHI:-But the present Ordinance can surely be amended?
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, the voters I have met in these areas have expressed a desire to go either to Yuen Long or Tsuen Wan. This seems reasonable. Would you please put this before the Colonial Secretary?
CHAIRMAN: Certainly, Mrs. ELLIOTT.
(6) MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:
Is it correct that the Resettlement Department has recently issued instructions to tighten up on allocating resites to homeless people? Is the Government aware that the smallest room is now rented at about $200 and that even then such rooms are difficult to find?
Is this latest restriction due to a greater demand for resites? If so, would the Government please investigate the reason why so many people would rather live in a hut than in a room?
Does the restriction come from Government, or does it originate
in the Resettlement Department?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
I presume the question, in effect, refers to Class II Licensed
Areas.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
445
The system of licensed areas replaced the former system of so- called "Resite Areas" in the implementation of the policy laid down by the 1964 White Paper, and it is now covered by appropriate provisions in Part VA of the Resettlement Ordinance.
It is not correct that the Resettlement Department recently issued instructions to tightening up on allocating resites to homeless people.
It is not within my competence to express any opinion on the
remainder of the question.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, am I to presume that the Com- missioner for Resettlement has no knowledge of a paper issued in December, and another in May, in which it says "you were instructed in May 1970 to process most stringently applications for admission in Class II Licensed areas" and then another one in December which says "in certain cases you can leave the people in the street for several days to observe if they are homeless". Is this not against the policy we had for 1964?
COMMISSIONER for ResettleMENT:-Section 50(c) of the Resettle- ment Ordinance imposes upon me the duty to satisfy myself that applicants are homeless.
MR. BERNACCHI:-Mr. Chairman, as a member of the Working Party that was party responsible for the 1964 White Paper, I am most surprised that any such instructions should have been issued if Mrs. ELLIOTT's information is right. It was certainly not the Working Party's view of this position. The fact that people are to be left on the street, winter or summer, to prove that they are homeless is disgusting.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, for clarification I give the refer- ence. It is (92) in RD/2/107/59, and I don't care whether the people are needy or not, they can't get houses these days.
(Mr. Raymond Y. K. KAN left the meeting at this point).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, couldn't this be referred to the Resettlement Policy Select Committee and thrashed out there? I think
it does seem to be important enough to warrant it.
MR. BERNACCHI:-Mr. Chairman, I am sorry, but as Chairman of the Resettlement Policy Select Committee I accept the request un- reservedly, and I would request the Commissioner for Resettlement to see that it is put on the Agenda.
CHAIRMAN: -You appreciate, Mr. BERNACCHI, that the Commis- sioner for Resettlement is the authority for resites?
age 233 of 24
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