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my conviction and my firm belief expressed in this Chamber in December 1992 that it is high time for the Government to have a re-think on its waste reduction strategy and programme, and that steps should be taken to build modern incinerators towards this end. The need is more pressing now than ever before. I strongly urge the Administration to take heed of the considered views expressed by the overwhelming majority of this Council and adopt a more pragmatic and effective approach to this important urban problem which has direct relevance to our Council as collection authority of domestic wastes.
Restaurant and Liquor Licensing
Mr. Justein WONG has commented on the need to improve restaurant and liquor licensing procedures and practices. This, indeed, is a subject which has taxed the minds of Members for some time. While much has been achieved by way of streamlining inter-departmental restaurant licensing procedures through quality audit of the applications, joint site inspections and the establishment of a central vetting panel, there is obviously still room for further improvement. In particular, I am looking forward to further proposals being put forward to this Council by the Department which will aim at providing suitable premises with a 'basic' restaurant licence at a much earlier stage, in fact as soon as they have met the more fundamental public health, building and fire safety requirements. In this regard, I hope it will be possible for this Council to consider making necessary amendments to our Food Business Bylaws to create such a category of 'basic' restaurant licence by the end of this calendar year.
Liquor licensing procedures and practices are, I understand, currently under review by the Department with due regard to, among other things, the findings of Council's recent study visit to Australia. I look forward to receiving the Department's comprehensive proposals in due course.
Hawkers and Markets
Before leaving the area of environmental hygiene, I should perhaps acknowledge comments made by a number of Members on market design and hawker and market management problems. No doubt the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee would follow up on the various points raised. However, as far as on-street hawking is concerned, I certainly hope that, now that we have a dedicated Hawker Control Officer Grade in place, greater efficiency and better management will be achieved in the months to come as new recruits are trained and deployed on the ground.
Public Relations
I am grateful to Ms. Carlye TSUI, Chairman of the Public Relations Sub-Committee, for driving home the important message that concerted efforts are needed to improve Council's public image. Events over the past year have indeed shown how Council's image can be tarnished through misinterpretation of its policies and actions by the public and the media. I hope the relevant Select Committees will follow up on Ms. Tsui's initiative to develop an effective communication strategy to address their individual needs.
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Committee and Secretariat Structures
In a commendably well-thought-out speech, Mr. MA Lee-wo raised a number of far-reaching issues which were fundamental to the smooth operations of this Council. I would first like to take up two of these issues, which were also echoed by one or two other Members, namely, the effectiveness of our committee structure and the independence of the Council Secretariat.
The number of our committees and working parties has, indeed, proliferated over the years and I agree that it is time for us to take stock of the situation to consider whether the present structure is conducive to Council efficiency. I have, therefore, asked the Department to take a critical look at the appropriateness of the existing committee structure with a view to submitting its observations and recommendations to this Council for consideration, hopefully before the expiry of our current term of office, by the end of March.
The question of the corporatisation of the Council Secretariat is, however, considerably more complicated and calls for careful deliberations. I would suggest that the matter be given detailed consideration by the new Council, probably with the setting up of an ad hoc working group.
Politicization of the Council
concern
Featuring in many Members' speeches is a common
over the politicising of this Council with a new line-up of directly elected Councillors coming to office in April. Members have spoken with passion and conviction on the subject, with calls on keeping the Council out of the political arena at one end of the spectrum to urges for expediting the pace of politicisation at the other. Realistically, I think few would dispute that when people of different political affiliations work together it is inevitable that their political conviction would be at play to varying degrees in the decision-making process. However, as politics itself is an art of compromise, I do hope that, when the time comes, Councillors will see the need to bury their differences for the good of the community they have been elected to serve rather than pressing for the pursuit of their own political goal. If I may quote from the speech of our veteran and admirable Councillor, Dr. Elsie Tu, 'If politics are a necessary evil in a growing democracy, we must not allow that necessary evil to divert our energies from service to people into service to parties'. This Council must continue to build on our success and fine tradition of working harmoniously to achieve our longstanding common goal of enriching city life for the good of the people of Hong Kong.
Other Issues
Members have also dwelt on a number of other specific issues including the need for promoting green management, reviewing the management of Council's vehicle fleet, improving communication between the Council and the Department, streamlining departmental establishment, upgrading information technology and quality management, and fine-tuning the Statement of Aims.
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my conviction and my firm belief expressed in this Chamber in December 1992 that it is high time for the Government to have a re-think on its waste reduction strategy and programme, and that steps should be taken to build modern incinerators towards this end. The need is more pressing now than ever before. I strongly urge the Administration to take heed of the considered views expressed by the overwhelming majority of this Council and adopt a more pragmatic and effective approach to this important urban problem which has direct relevance to our Council as collection authority of domestic wastes.
Restaurant and Liquor Licensing
Mr. Justein WONG has commented on the need to improve restaurant and liquor licensing procedures and practices. This, indeed, is a subject which has taxed the minds of Members for some time. While much has been achieved by way of streamlining inter-departmental restaurant licensing procedures through quality audit of the applications, joint site inspections and the establishment of a central vetting panel, there is obviously still room for further improvement. In particular, I am looking forward to further proposals being put forward to this Council by the Department which will aim at providing suitable premises with a 'basic' restaurant licence at a much earlier stage, in fact as soon as they have met the more fundamental public health, building and fire safety requirements. In this regard, I hope it will be possible for this Council to consider making necessary amendments to our Food Business Bylaws to create such a category of 'basic' restaurant licence by the end of this calendar year.
Liquor licensing procedures and practices are, I understand, currently under review by the Department with due regard to, among other things, the findings of Council's recent study visit to Australia. I look forward to receiving the Department's comprehensive proposals in due course.
Hawkers and Markets
Before leaving the area of environmental hygiene, I should perhaps acknowledge comments made by a number of Members on market design and hawker and market management problems. No doubt the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee would follow up on the various points raised. However, as far as on-street hawking is concerned, I certainly hope that, now that we have a dedicated Hawker Control Officer Grade in place, greater efficiency and better management will be achieved in the months to come as new recruits are trained and deployed on the ground.
Public Relations
I am grateful to Ms. Carlye TSUI, Chairman of the Public Relations Sub-Committee, for driving home the important message that concerted efforts are needed to improve Council's public image. Events over the past year have indeed shown how Council's image can be tarnished through misinterpretation of its policies and actions by the public and the media. I hope the relevant Select Committees will follow up on Ms. Tsur's initiative to develop an effective communication strategy to address their individual needs.
Page 10 of 485
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Committee and Secretariat Structures
In a commendably well-thought-out speech, Mr. MA Lee-wo raised a number of far-reaching issues which were fundamental to the smooth operations of this Council. I would first like to take up two of these issues, which were also echoed by one or two other Members, namely, the effectiveness of our committee structure and the independence of the Council Secretariat.
The number of our committees and working parties has, indeed, proliferated over the years and I agree that it is time for us to take stock of the situation to consider whether the present structure is conducive to Council efficiency. I have, therefore, asked the Department to take a critical look at the appropriateness of the existing committee structure with a view to submitting its observations and recommendations to this Council for consideration, hopefully before the expiry of our current term of office, by the end of March.
The question of the corporatisation of the Council Secretariat is, however, considerably more complicated and calls for careful deliberations. I would suggest that the matter be given detailed consideration by the new Council, probably with the setting up of an ad hoc working group.
Politicization of the Council
concern
Featuring in many Members' speeches is a common
over the politicising of this Council with a new line-up of directly elected Councillors coming to office in April. Members have spoken with passion and conviction on the subject, with calls on keeping the Council out of the political arena at one end of the spectrum to urges for expediting the pace of politicisation at the other. Realistically, I think few would dispute that when people of different political affiliations work together it is inevitable that their political conviction would be at play to varying degrees in the decision-making process. However, as politics itself is an art of compromise, I do hope that, when the time comes, Councillors will see the need to bury their differences for the good of the community they have been elected to serve rather than pressing for the pursuit of their own political goal. If I may quite from the speech of our veteran and admirable Councillor, Dr. Elsie Tu, 'If politics are a necessary evil in a growing democracy, we must not allow that necessary evil to divert our energies from service to people into service to parties'. This Council must continue to build on our success and fine tradition of working harmoniously to achieve our longstanding common goal of enriching city life for the good of the people of Hong Kong.
Other Issues
Members have also dwelt on a number of other specific issues including the need for promoting green management, reviewing the management of Council's vehicle fleet, improving communication between the Council and the Department, streamlining departmental establishment, upgrading information technology and quality management, and fine-tuning the Statement of Aims.
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