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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. WALTER M. SULKE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, in supporting the motion, I would like to make the following suggestions to this Council and the Hong Kong Government:
Our deficit is much discussed, so I would like to remind this Council, The Government and the Public, that whereas Government tax collections via land auctions and income taxes are inflation proof, we are dependent on rates which have not caught up with inflation because they have not been adjusted for the last five years. We also have no control over wages and salaries paid to the very large staff in the U.S.D. Under these circumstances, I think it is entirely justified to have Government use its huge surplus to pay for what are very essential services and our still very rudimentary attempts at beautifying the city and improving the quality of life of our citizens.
Having said that, I must also say that as our main financial problem is high labour cost and the fact that practically everything the Council does is very labour intensive, whether it is the collection of garbage or the looking after of sports and other facilities, and the servicing of the many trees, plants and open areas, it is important for us to use our very expensive labour as efficiently as possible. Therefore, I would like to suggest that a proper study is made of all the latest techniques for everything we do to see whether we can import some modern technology in order to save manpower. I want to say, at the same time, that I am not trying to make anyone redundant in the U.S.D. I can see a steady growth rate in staff requirements for the U.S.D. because of more and bigger Council buildings and facilities coming on stream. Also, more open areas, more trees, more flowers will have to be looked after and certainly more garbage will have to be collected in future so that any labour we save can be used for the future expansion of Urban Council activities. I believe such an exercise is essential because otherwise both the Government and the public are going to turn around and tell us to stop spending money. Which would be very shortsighted, because what we do increases the quality of life and makes life a little more bearable for the community. So it is essential that we are not stopped. But we must show that we are efficient.
In view of the grave shortage of housing in Hong Kong it must be accepted that squatter housing, however undesirable, is a contribution towards the solution of the housing problem. Accordingly, I feel quite strongly that the Urban Council has a duty to make those squatter areas which are within the Urban Council boundaries as liveable as possible. The Urban Council already furnishes some services but further investigations are required to find out what more can be done, besides the very rudimentary clearing of accumulated garbage, to help make squatters lives a bit more bearable. This obviously must include such things as fire breaks which should be enforced by the Police and I think will be supported by all living in squatter areas because fire is the greatest enemy they have. It should also include the grading and surfacing of footpaths, better supply of water and even some rudimentary sitting out areas. I would like to suggest that research on possibilities such as these in squatter areas is carried out by the U.S.D. as quickly as possible so that the Council can proceed to improve the quality of life for squatters who, by force of circumstances, will be living in very sub-standard housing for a long time to come since, with the best will in the world, the Government's housing problem cannot really be expected to catch up with the population needs for the next 10-15 years.
This Council has done a great deal for the local arts by patronage and giving exhibition space and encouraging young artists, but in view of the grave housing shortage, I believe a great deal of talent cannot be exercised simply because there is no space for the young musician to practice, the young sculptor to work with clay or bronze, the young painter to put up his easel and mix his colours. I believe the Council should furnish studio space in all its public buildings so that our youngsters have somewhere to learn and practice their art. I believe this is just as important as to support artists by buying their works or paying for their performances.
I would like to suggest to Government that it is time a Secretary for Scientific Services were appointed and a Department founded to look after Scientific Services. This could comprise the present Royal Observatory, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Laboratory, the Census and Statistics Dept. and possibly the Productivity Council. I believe this is important so that these presently very splintered services don't compete with each other but are centralized and can give sensible advice to Government and engage in Government related scientific research, a lot of which could be very useful to this Council. To give just one example out of many, research into new improved scientific methods of garbage disposal could eventually save this Council and the Community money and improve the quality of life.
I believe there is not enough being done to make sure that more and larger trees are planted. Tree-planting, especially inside the city where concrete predominates, contributes to air quality and is energy saving by lowering summer temperatures. I have been told, on good authority, that Singapore without trees would be between 2°C and 4°C hotter than it is now. The costs saved in air-conditioning are astronomical. It is obviously not easy to plant trees inside our concrete jungle but a survey should be started now to see where trees could be planted without endangering traffic, and research should be carried out to find out what the fastest growing trees are which would thrive in our climate and also whether it would be biologically feasible to plant mature trees and whether the same sort of climate and beautifying effects could be achieved with palms or large shrubs, or other more economical alternatives. In fact, I would like to suggest that the Council should really employ its own landscape expert although the sort of research I have suggested could certainly be a project for the new Government Department of Scientific Services I have proposed earlier in this speech.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 117 of 146
191
Page 117 of 14
Page 117 of 146
190
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. WALTER M. SULKE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, in supporting the motion, I would like to make the following suggestions to this Council and the Hong Kong Government:
Our deficit is much discussed, so I would like to remind this Council, The Government and the Public, that whereas Government tax collections via land auctions and income taxes are inflation proof, we are dependent on rates which have not caught up with inflation because they have not been adjusted for the last five years. We also have no control over wages and salaries paid to the very large staff in the U.S.D. Under these circumstances, I think it is entirely justified to have Government use its huge surplus to pay for what are very essential services and our still very rudimentary attempts at beautifying the city and improving the quality of life of our citizens.
Having said that, I must also say that as our main financial problem is high labour cost and the fact that practically everything the Council does is very labour intensive, whether it is the collection of garbage or the looking after of sports and other facilities, and the servicing of the many trees, plants and open areas, it is important for us to use our very expensive labour as efficiently as possible. Therefore, I would like to suggest that a proper study is made of all the latest techniques for everything we do to see whether we can import some modern technology in order to save manpower. I want to say, at the same time, that I am not trying to make anyone redundant in the U.S.D. I can see a steady growth rate in staff requirements for the U.S.D. because of more and bigger Council buildings and facilities coming on stream. Also, more open areas, more trees, more flowers will have to be looked after and certainly more garbage will have to be collected in future so that any labour we save can be used for the future expansion of Urban Council activities. I believe such an exercise is essential because otherwise both the Government and the public are going to turn around and tell us to stop spending money. Which would be very shortsighted, because what we do increases the quality of life and makes life a little more bearable for the community. So it is essential that we are not stopped. But we must show that we are efficient.
In view of the grave shortage of housing in Hong Kong it must be accepted that squatter housing, however undesirable, is a contribution towards the solution of the housing problem. Accordingly, I feel quite strongly that the Urban Council has a duty to make those squatter areas which are within the Urban Council boundaries as liveable as possible. The Urban Council already furnishes some services but further investigations are required to find out what more can be done, besides the very rudimentary clearing of accumulated garbage, to help make squatters lives a bit more bearable. This obviously must include such things as fire breaks which should be enforced by the Police and I think will be supported by all living in squatter areas because fire is the greatest enemy they have. It should also include the grading and surfacing of footpaths, better supply of water and even some rudimentary sitting out areas. I would
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 117 of 146
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like to suggest that research on possibilities such as these in squatter arcas is carried out by the U.S.D. as quickly as possible so that the Council can proceed to improve the quality of life for squatters who, by force of circumstances, will be living in very sub-standard housing for a long time to come since, with the best will in the world, the Government's housing problem cannot really be expected to catch up with the population needs for the next 10-15 years.
This Council has done a great deal for the local arts by patronage and giving exhibition space and encouraging young artists, but in view of the grave housing shortage, I believe a great deal of talent cannot be exercised simply because there is no space for the young musician to practice, the young sculptor to work with clay or bronze, the young painter to put up his easel and mix his colours. I believe the Council should furnish studio space in all its public buildings so that our youngsters have somewhere to learn and practice their art. I believe this is just as important as to support artists by buying their works or paying for their performances.
I would like to suggest to Government that it is time a Secretary for Scientific Services were appointed and a Department founded to look after Scientific Services. This could comprise the present Royal Observatory, the Environ- mental Protection Agency, the Government Laboratory, the Census and Statistics Dept. and possibly the Productivity Council. I believe this is important so that these presently very splintered services don't compete with each other but are centralized and can give sensible advice to Government and engage in Government related scientific research, a lot of which could be very useful to this Council. To give just one example out of many, research into new improved scientific methods of garbage disposal could eventually save this Council and the Community money and improve the quality of life.
I believe there is not enough being done to make sure that more and larger trees are planted. Tree-planting, especially inside the city where concrete predominates, contributes to air quality and is energy saving by lowering summer temperatures. I have been told, on good authority, that Singapore without trees would be between 2°C and 4°C hotter than it is now. The costs saved in air-conditioning are astronomical. It is obviously not easy to plant trees inside our concrete jungle but a survey should be started now to see where trees could be planted without endangering traffic, and research should be carried out to find out what the fastest growing trees are which would thrive in our climate and also whether it would be biologically feasible to plant mature trees and whether the same sort of climate and beautifying effects could be achieved with palms or large shrubs, or other more economical alternatives. In fact, I would like to suggest that the Council should really employ its own landscape expert although the sort of research I have suggested could certainly be a project for the new Government Department of Scientific Services I have proposed earlier in this speech.
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