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the large contingent of labourers and hawker enforcement staff who must mainly be able-bodied. But this is not to say that opportunities have been exhausted, and what better time is there than this year to undertake a thorough investigation of jobs within the Department so that more posts offering employment opportunities to handicapped persons can be identified? To start with, it would be interesting to know out of the large number of staff selling tickets and attending gates at cultural and recreational facilities, how many could provide jobs for people in a wheelchair, or without a limb. The essence of the Year of the Disabled is integration into the community and recognizing that most disabled persons can play a useful role in the community.

Finance

Whether we are talking about putting more resources into cleaning Hong Kong, or providing more recreational facilities, or helping the disabled, we need money. In the middle of last year, it became obvicus to all of us here that the Urban Council was running out of money, in fact some had sounded warning bells as long as one and a half years ago.

Capital works were trimmed down considerably in July with the result that we are only proceeding with urgent projects that are already in the pipeline, in other words, any new opportunities, any new ideas are unable to be pursued due to lack of funds.

Cutting back on capital investment will cost more in the long run, and the quality of life will take longer to match up to the aspirations and expecta- tions of the community, the younger members of the community in particular. The outlook of the ordinary citizen on investing for the future is such that Hong Kong people are willing to queue up for days and nights to ballot for a flat, and it is common practice to have families forking out as much as half their total income to invest in the roof over ones head. Seeing the way construction costs have increased by more than 30% over the last year, it is no surprise any ordinary man can see the wisdom of buying early and building early. Why should the Council not think likewise? Does the Council, which is supposed to comprise of leading and intelligent citizens, lack the basic wisdom of the man in the street?

The answer is that the Council has been hit so hard by inflation that it is prevented by sheer financial reasons from doing what it thinks is right and in the best interests of the community. The bulk of our income is from rates, and since 1977 up to the end of this financial year our rate revenue has only increased from $346 million to $420 million, roughly 61% compound growth per annum. Our expenditure on staff emoluments alone has risen from $274 million to $483 million during the same period, roughly 21% compound increase. Mr. Chairman, if the bulk of Hong Kong's population were facing a 21% increase in the cost of living but only getting a 61% increase in salary for three years running, there would be petitioning in front of Government

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House in no time! In fact, we have been doing just that in a different form, r you yourself on 18 November stated that unless Government paid half of share of the General Rate to the Council, there would be no alternative but to increase rates. Regrettably, we have yet to hear a positive response to our so-called 'petitioning', and until such time that we do, we will continue s councillors to feel being out on a limb, with a sword dangling overhead. In this day and age of inflation, I believe Hong Kong people are reasonable enough to accept and understand increases if there is good reason and for them, but I also believe that the bulk of Hong Kong's population view the Government and Urban Council as only different parts of the machinery of governing Hong Kong. To the ordinary man, including myself, it just does not make sense to be asking for money from the public for the left pocket when the right pocket is bulging with money, especially when the bulge is more than ten times what the smaller pocket is short of. Although the Government may be legally correct in saying that Urban Council should go out on its own and increase rates, I am sure such a very unpopular step at this time would meet widespread resistance, and in the end the very credibility of Government would be questioned by the populace who do not see the subtlety of the difference between Urban Council and Government.

With these words, Sir, I support the motion and hope that Government will see the wisdom of helping us have the ways and means of achieving the aims we are debating today.

(Mrs. E. ELLIOTT left during Mr. Howard YOUNG's address.)

MISS MARIA W. C. TAM (in English):—Mr. Chairman, on the 6th of June 1980 the Green Paper on the Pattern of District Administration was pub- lished. In response to the Government's call for comments the Elected members of this Council published a joint statement the main points of which are, inter alia, as follows:-

(a) that in order to reflect the particular need of each district there should be direct elections of representatives to the District Boards in the Urban

area;

(b) that Urban councillors should be elected on a territory-wide basis so that 'the main programmes should not be fragmented, but should con- tinue to be centrally directed.'

(c) that the top candidate of each of the District Board elections gains a

seat in the Urban Council;

(4) that the District Boards should be chaired by an elected member or an

unofficial and

(e) that meetings should be open to the public.

In the White Paper published on the 14th of January 1981 point (a) was accepted, point (d) was accepted with modification in that District Boards will be chaired by unofficials eventually, the rest are rejected.

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