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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Our secondary sources of revenue- licence fees, charges, rentals, etc. represent only 26% of the overall revenue budgeted for 1985-86. Under the present philosophy of the level of fees being equated to the administrative cost of providing them, this offers limited scope for any significant addition to our revenue. Although steps are now being taken to see whether the Council can widen and expand this source of revenue, by a change of attitude in the philosophy I have just mentioned.
The rates provide 76% of total revenue. I would suggest, therefore, if we can succeed in selling the benefits of our programme of expansion in cultural, recreational and other service facilities to the public, we should receive public backing to a request for an increase in rates in the future to match requirements. Because Mr. Chairman, I do not share your optimism that other methods of raising the wind or reducing costs, will balance our budget, unless these are accompanied by a very drastic reduction in both services and facilities to the public, a course of action I would not advocate. Instead let us continue to be progressive and innovative and improve efficiency.
I, like you, Mr. Chairman and Mrs. ELLIOTT, was interested to be invited to witness the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Future of Hong Kong in Beijing on 19 December. Last week I received a large photograph of the ceremony which shows all the participants in this dramatic event watching the climax of two years of hectic and traumatic negotiation. The signing of the Declaration has been compared in significance for Hong Kong to the signing of the Magna Carta. This you will recall was the Great English Charter of Personal and Political Liberty obtained from King John by the English Barons at Runnymede on 15 June 1215.
Having witnessed at first hand and listened to both the British and Chinese Prime Ministers after the signing ceremony of the Declaration, pledging their respective Governments' intention to adhere to both the letter and the spirit of that Declaration, I am encouraged and optimistic at the long term prospects for the future of Hong Kong and we, its people. I feel convinced that it offers as interesting and rewarding a period ahead, as we have experienced in the post war years in Hong Kong.
I second the motion before the Council.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English): Mr. Chairman, I will not take up this Council's time with a very long speech today. But the matters that have been particularly important this past year are the Joint Declaration between China and Great Britain, and, shall I say, almost the resulting White Paper on Constitutional Reform for Hong Kong. However, I have already given my views on both in this Council, on both of these subjects.
I would merely repeat that I welcome the Joint Declaration, but a lot of work must be put into making the proposals therein work in practice, including of course the drafting and promulgating of the basic law. As regards the White Paper on Constitutional Reform, I regarded it as very loosely and hurriedly drawn up, proposing only the immediate steps, steps which I personally think are in the wrong direction. In my view, it would have been better to have left things as they are for one or two years, whilst the matter be more thoroughly studied, but with the object of having direct elections to some seats in the Legislative Council to be introduced in 1987. Now, there will have to be a further review in that year, and direct elections will have to be, at the earliest, not until 1988, by which time, an unwanted machinery for functional constituencies would have been set up. However this concept eventually will have to be dismantled, but by that time it will meet opposition by certain members of those functional bodies who will have thought they had a right to priority in the election of one of their own members! I warn the Government again, time is short, go carefully but do plan thoroughly, and over the 12 years. It is far easier for a known overall plan to be altered, than to start every next step from scratch, every two or three years! In view of these remarkable happenings of this last year, the hum-drum administration of Hong Kong seems to have taken a back-seat. However, I must warn again against the terrific increase in the cost of administration by creating a three-tier system of the Government of what is, in fact, local government. I.e. the Legislative Council first layer, the Urban and Regional Councils second, and the District Boards the third. In my opinion, the sooner the Legislative Council gets off its high horse, and realizes that the future role is that of a municipal council, and that the whole territory is the port of Hong Kong, and its suburbs, the quicker will be realize that the semi-autonomous administration of Hong Kong after 1997 will be in this direction.
It is for this reason that I am against any form of ministerial government. The Urban Council's system of select committees looking after individual responsibilities now given to this Council has been shown to be the best thing to work from. It is, for instance, not appropriate for there to be a Minister of Transport, i.e. an unofficial as Secretary for Transport. The overall policies of the Transport Department can be administered by a Select Committee of the Legislative Council headed by a Chairman, with the Chief Government Officer being the Departmental head. That is, in effect, the same as is done for the markets and street traders, now administered by the Urban Council.
Talking of street traders, I am convinced that the hawker problems cannot be solved by closing our eyes and saying, in theory, no more hawker licences are to be issued whereas in practice there are far more unlicensed than licensed hawkers now on our streets! At least, unless we and the Government want to spend a lot more money on increasing the Police Force, and General Duty Teams, and even re-erecting the Hawker Control Force, we must accept that hawkers are a way of life in Hong Kong, hawkers dependent upon the community, but the community, in the long run, also depends upon the hawkers. I think the most that we can enforce on the ground is to ensure,
Page 164 of 233
289
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 164 of 233
288
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Our secondary sources of revenue-
licence fees, charges, rentals, etc. represent only 26% of the overall revenue budgetted for 1985-86. Under the present philosophy of the level of fees being equated to the administrative cost of providing them, this offers limited scope for any significant addition to our revenue. Although steps are now being taken to see whether the Council can widen and expand this source of revenue, by a change of attitude in the philosophy I have just mentioned.
The rates provide 76% of total revenue. I would suggest, therefore, if we can succeed in selling the benefits of our programme of expansion in cultural, recreational and other service facilities to the public, we should receive public backing to a request for an increase in rates in the future to match requirenments. Because Mr. Chairman, I do not share your optimism that other methods of raising the wind or reducing costs, will balance our bedget, unless these are accompanied by a very drastic reduction in both services and facilities to the public, a course of action I would not advocate. Instead let us continue to be progressive and innovative and improve efficiency.
I, like you, Mr. Chairman and Mrs. ELLIOTT, was interested to be invited to witness the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Future of Hong Kong in Beijing on 19 December. Last week I received a large photograph of the ceremony which shows all the participants in this dramatic event watching the climax of two years of hectic and traumatic negotiation. The signing of the Declaration has been compared in significance for Hong Kong to the signing of the Magna Carta. This you will recall was the Great English Charter of Personal and Political Liberty obtained from King John by the English Barons at Runnymede on 15 June 1215.
Having witness at first hand and listened to both the British and Chinese Prime Ministers after the signing ceremony of the Declaration, pledgeing their respective Governments' intention to adhere to both the letter and the spirit of that Declaration, I am encouraged and optimistic at the long term prospects for the future of Hong Kong and we, its people. I feel convinced that it offers as interesting and rewarding period ahead, as we have experienced in the post war years in Hong Kong.
I second the motion before the Council.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English): Mr. Chairman, I will not take up this Council's time with a very long speech today. But the matters that have been particularly important this past year are the Joint Declaration between China and Great Britain, and, shall I say, almost the resulting the White Paper on Constitutional Reform for Hong Kong. However, I have already given my views on both in this Council, on both of these subjects.
I would merely repeat that I welcome the Joint Declaration, but a lot of work must be put into making the proposals therein, work in practice, including of
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 164 of 233
289
course the drafting and promulgating of the basic law. As regards the White Paper, on Constitutional Reform, I regarded it as very loosely and hurriedly drawn up, proposing only the immediate steps, steps which I personally think is in the wrong direction. In my view, it would have been better to have left things as they are for one or two years, whilst the matter be more thoroughly studied, but with the object of having direct elections to some seats in the Legislative Council to be introduced in 1987. Now, there will have to be a further review in that year, and direct elections will have to be, at the earliest, not until 1988, by which time, an unwanted machinery for functional constituencies would have been set up. However this concept eventually will have to be demantled, but by that time it will meet opposition by certain members of those functional bodies who will have thought they had a right to priority in the election of one of their own members! I warn the Government again, time is short, go carefully but do plan thoroughly, and over the 12 years. It is far easier for a known overall plan to be altered, than to start every next step from scratch, every two or three years! In view of these remarkable happenings of this last year, the hum-drum administration of Hong Kong, seems to have taken a back-seat. However, I must warn again, against the terrific increase in the cost of administration by creating a three tier system of the Government of what is, in fact, local government. I.e. the Legislative Council first layer, the Urban and Regional Councils second, and the District Boards the third. In my opinion, the sooner the Legislative Council gets off its high horse, and realizes that the future role is that of a municipal council, and that the whole territory is the port of Hong Kong, and its suburbs, the quicker will be realize that the semi-autonomous administration of Hong Kong after 1997, will be in this direction.
It is for this reason that I am against any form of ministerial government. The Urban Council's system of select committees looking after individual responsibilities now given to this Council, has been shown to be the best thing to work from. It is, for instance, not appropriate for there to be a Minister of Transport, i.e. an unofficial as Secretary for Transport. The overall policies of the Transport Department can be administered by a Select Committee of the Legislative Council headed by a Chairman, with the Chief Government Officer being the Departmental head. That is, in effect, the same as is done the markets and street traders, now administered by the Urban Council.
Talking of street traders, I am convinced that the hawker problems cannot be solved by closing our eyes and saying, in theory, no more hawker licences are to be issued whereas in practice there are far more unlicensed than licensed hawkers now on our streets! At least, unless we and the Government want to spend a lot more money on increasing the Police Force, and General Duty Teams, and even re-erecting the Hawker Control Force, we must accept that hawkers are a way of life in Hong Kong, hawkers dependent upon the community, but the community, in the long run, also depends upon the hawkers. I think the most that we can enforce on the ground as to ensure,
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