 |
A 05/06-36
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 12 July 2006 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers| 1. | No.101 | - | Report by the Commissioner of Correctional Services on the administration of the Prisoners' Welfare Fund for the year ended 31 March 2006
| (to be presented by Secretary for Security)
| | 2. | No.102 | - | Audited Financial Statements and Report on Activities of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority for the year ending 31 August 2005
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
| | 3. | No.103 | - | Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation
Annual Report 2005-2006
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)
| | 4. | No.104 | - | Report of the J.E. Joseph Trust Fund Trustee, and Audited Statement of Accounts and Auditor's Report for the Fund, for the year from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006
| (to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)
| | 5. | No.105 | - | Report of the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund Committee, and Audited Statement of Accounts and Auditor's Report for the Fund, for the year from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006
| (to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)
| | 6. | No.106 | - | Sir Robert Black Trust Fund
Annual Report for the year from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 7. | No.107 | - | Sir David Trench Fund for Recreation
Trustee's Report 2005-2006
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 8. | No.108 | - | Construction Industry Training Authority
Annual Report 2005
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
| | 9. | No.109 | - | Clothing Industry Training Authority
Annual Report 2005
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
| | 10. | No.110 | - | Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Report No. 46 of the Director of Audit on the Results of Value for Money Audits
(July 2006 - P.A.C. Report No. 46)
| (to be presented by Dr Hon Philip WONG, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who will address the Council)
| | 11. | Committee on Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Progress Report for the 2005-06 session (1 July 2005 to 12 July 2006)
| (to be presented by Hon TSANG Yok-sing, Chairman of the Committee on Rules of Procedure)
| | 12. | Report of the Panel on Commerce and Industry 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 13. | Report of the Panel on Public Service 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon LI Fung-ying, Deputy Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 14. | Report of the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 15. | Report of the Panel on Transport 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon LAU Kong-wah, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 16. | Report of the Panel on Housing 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon CHAN Kam-lam, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 17. | Report of the Panel on Financial Affairs 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon Bernard CHAN, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 18. | Report of the Panel on Education 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Dr Hon YEUNG Sum, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 19. | Report of the Panel on Planning, Lands and Works 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon LAU Wong-fat, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 20. | Report of the Panel on Welfare Services 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 21. | Report of the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon SIN Chung-kai, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 22. | Report of the Panel on Economic Services 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon James TIEN, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 23. | Report of the Panel on Health Services 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 24. | Report of the Panel on Environmental Affairs 2005/2006
| (to be presented by Hon CHOY So-yuk, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
| | 25. | Report of the Bills Committee on Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2006
| (to be presented by Hon Mrs Selina CHOW, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
| | 26. | Report of the Bills Committee on Financial Reporting Council Bill
| | (to be presented by Hon TAM Heung-man, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
|
II. Questions
1. Hon KWONG Chi-kin to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective current numbers of wild or abandoned cows in the rural area, with a breakdown by their species and distribution;
| | (b) | whether the authorities have taken measures, other than catching and killing, to preserve such cows and separate them from people for harmonious human-bovine coexistence; if so, of the details of such measures; if not, whether they will draw up such measures; and
| | (c) | of the number of organizations or individuals currently providing accommodation and care to such cows; in the past three years, the assistance provided to these organizations or individuals by the authorities and the number of applications received for short-term lease of government land to accommodate and take care of such cows; and the location and area of the land involved in each application, as well as the application results; whether the relevant government departments have looked for land to preserve and care for such cows?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
2. Dr Hon Joseph LEE Kok-long to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the recent incidents in which wrong medicines were dispensed to elderly residents at some residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"), and the fact that employing registered pharmacists to monitor the procedures for dispensing medicines is not a mandatory requirement in the existing licensing conditions for RCHEs, will the Government inform this Council whether it will:
| (a) | in order to prevent mistakes in dispensation of medicines by RCHE staff, implement new measures such as developing new guidelines to ensure that all RCHEs in Hong Kong will monitor the process of dispensing, storing, labelling and distributing medicines with a well-developed, stringent and uniform drug management system, adopting an effective system to record information on the medicines taken by the elderly, and requiring RCHEs to employ resident pharmacists or dispensers to take up high-risk and professional duties such as handling, recording and distributing medicines; if so, of the details of such measures and when the authorities expect such guidelines to be completed; if not, whether existing measures which mainly target at the training of Health Workers ("HWs") is effective in preventing mistakes in dispensation of medicines, and how the Government can ensure that RCHEs will achieve "zero error" in handling medicine;
| | (b) | review the existing mode of subsidy for RCHEs and raise the mean subsidy amount in order to enable RCHEs to employ professional nurses to distribute medicines and provide proper nursing care services; and
| | (c) | set out in the conditions for the issue and renewal of licences for RCHEs the respective manpower ratios of nurses and HWs to RCHE residents and the requirement of the employment of resident pharmacists?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
3. Hon Vincent FANG Kang to ask: (Translation)
The Government has indicated that it will implement central slaughtering of live poultry in 2009. By then, the existing live poultry wholesale market will lose its original functions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the use of the present site of the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market after the stoppage of the wholesale of live poultry, and whether it will conduct any consultation on the use of the resumed land; and
| | (b) | whether it will consider giving preference to using the site as a wholesale market of other foods, such as fresh fruit; if not, whether the site will be converted for residential use, like the areas in the vicinity?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
4. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
At present, persons with muscular dystrophy ("PMDs") have to wait for three years on average before they are admitted into care and attention homes for the severely disabled, and they will no longer enjoy the residential and physiotherapist services provided at schools for students with physical disability upon graduation. Also, it is often difficult for these persons to find jobs, even if they have obtained university graduate qualifications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the assistance provided to PMDs by the governments in various developed countries, and whether it has studied which of these countries' practices are worthy to be followed by Hong Kong;
| | (b) | whether it plans to provide more assistance to PMDs (especially those who have left schools for students with physical disability), as well as to take measures to shorten the waiting time for admission into care and attention homes for the severely disabled; if so, of the details of the plan, including the amount of additional expenditure involved; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether it will take special measures to help PMDs find jobs, offer tax concession incentives to private enterprises to encourage them to employ these persons, and make government departments and subvented organizations take the lead in employing them; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
5. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the authorities' proposals on healthcare financing and revisions to public medical care fees, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities have drawn up a concrete timetable for announcing the proposals on healthcare financing, conducting public consultation on the proposals and implementing them; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | as the comments made earlier by the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority ("HA") about the modes of healthcare financing and increase in public medical care fees, which are still under consideration, have aroused concern among some members of the public, whether the authorities will strengthen their communication and understanding with HA in releasing news about the modes of healthcare financing and revisions to public medical care fees; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities will undertake to refrain from putting forward any proposals to increase fees for individual medical care items before announcing a comprehensive proposal on healthcare financing?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
6. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
As there is currently only one curriculum for Chinese Language in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination ("HKCEE"), both ethnic minority students in Hong Kong and Chinese-speaking local students have to study the same curriculum if they want to take this subject in the HKCEE. Some groups have pointed out that this arrangement is unfair as the curriculum is too difficult for non-Chinese speaking ("NCS") ethnic minority students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it will suggest to local universities, post-secondary colleges or continuing education institutions that subject to the requirements of the courses, applicants be allowed to apply with their examination results of other Chinese subjects, such as the General Certificate of Secondary Education (Chinese) Examination which may be administered in 2007, in lieu of those of the current Chinese Language subject in the HKCEE, when assessing the enrolment applications from local students; and
| | (b) | of the measures in place to help the ethnic minority students to overcome the language barrier in pursuing further studies in Hong Kong?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower
*7. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
The publication of photographs of a 14-year-old girl in sexy poses on the front cover and a number of inside pages in Issue No. 752 of Easyfinder magazine has aroused public concerns. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of complaints about the above incident received so far, and the follow-up actions taken by the relevant departments and the current progress;
| | (b) | of the number of complaints received by the authorities about teenagers under the age of 16 being used by the media to promote sex and pornography in each of the past three years, and the respective numbers of those which allegedly involved breaches of the Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance and were referred to the Police for investigation, and those in which offenders were convicted of breaching the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance, as well as the maximum penalty imposed in the conviction cases; and
| | (c) | whether it will step up efforts to prevent teenagers under the age of 16 from being used by the media to promote sex and pornography, including conducting a review of the existing legislation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
*8. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the current number of tenants receiving rent assistance, broken down by the rate of rent reduction granted; and
| | (b) | the current number of applications for rent assistance being processed
in each public housing estate?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
*9. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)
It was reported that in a recent accident in Japan, a lift suddenly moved upward while a teenager was entering the lift. Unable to escape in time, the teenager was crushed to death. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of accidents caused by failures of lifts and escalators which resulted in casualties in each of the past five years, and among such accidents, the number of those involving violations of the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance and/or the Lift Owners' Guidebook;
| | (b) | of the respective numbers of lifts and escalators in Hong Kong, and the frequency of periodic maintenance, examination and testing to be performed each year on a lift or an escalator as required by the legislation;
| | (c) | of the number of competent lift workers ("competent workers") currently employed by registered lift contractors;
| | (d) | of the number of cases in which competent workers were called to the rescue of people trapped in lifts in each of the past five years; and
| | (e) | based on the current ratios of lifts/escalators to competent workers, of the amounts of time a competent worker may spend on rescue operations and on periodic maintenance, examination and testing respectively, and whether the Government will stipulate the minimum amount of time a competent worker should engage in periodic maintenance, examination and testing of lifts/escalators; if so, when such a stipulation will be made; if not, the reasons for that?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
*10. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
Regarding vegetables supplied to Hong Kong from the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it is aware that some traders have sourced vegetables directly from various markets in the Pearl River Delta Region for sale in Hong Kong, instead of from registered Mainland farms that supply vegetables to Hong Kong;
| | (b) | as the vegetables concerned may be transported to Hong Kong in sealed trucks, and the traders may declare to the Customs and Excise Department that they are vegetables for "export", whether it has estimated the daily quantity of vegetables imported to Hong Kong by such means;
| | (c) | whether random inspections have been conducted on these vegetables; if so, of the number of samples taken in each of the past three years;
| | (d) | whether actions have been taken against traders selling vegetables so imported; if so, of the number of actions taken and prosecutions instituted in each of the past three years, as well as the penalties imposed in the conviction cases; and
| | (e) | as the vegetables mentioned above may have escaped the inspection and testing by the Government, how it can ensure that such vegetables comply with food hygiene standards in Hong Kong?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*11. Hon MA Lik to ask: (Translation)
Article 48(6) of the Basic Law stipulates that "the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region......to appoint or remove judges of the courts at all levels in accordance with legal procedures"; and Article 88 stipulates that "judges of the courts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of an independent commission composed of local judges, persons from the legal profession and eminent persons from other sectors". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | in relation to the "judges" referred to in the above provisions, of the existing part-time and full-time judicial officers in the Court of Final Appeal, the High Court, district courts, magistrates' courts and other special courts in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region who are included and excluded respectively in the context; and
| | (b) | of the legal basis for such differentiation?
|
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration
*12. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Hospital Authority ("HA") implemented a pilot telephone booking system in five general out-patient clinics ("GOPCs") in Hong Kong East in November last year. Patients with episodic illnesses may book appointments by telephone for consultation and treatment on the same day or the next day. The system was extended to the remaining seven GOPCs on Hong Kong Island in January this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the number of persons who have made use of the telephone booking system and obtained discs for consultation so far, and
| | (i) | a breakdown of this number by age groups (above 60, 45-60, below 45) and their respective percentages; and
| | (ii) | the percentage of this number in the total number of persons who have obtained discs in the same period;
| | (b) | the respective current numbers of discs reserved daily, by each clinic involved in the pilot system for patients who use the telephone booking system and for those who come in person, and the respective average daily numbers of patients who use the telephone booking system and those who come in person, but are not given discs;
| | (c) | the detailed results of the assessment of the pilot system, including whether there is no recurrence of the situation in which patients queue in person for discs in the small hours; and
| | (d) | when HA plans to extend the telephone booking system to the other GOPCs under its management?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*13. Hon TAM Heung-man to ask: (Translation)
I have learnt that currently the Immigration Department ("ImmD") will process applications for employment visas from overseas nationals only after six months from the expiry of their training visas. As a result, they have to return to their places of origin first and come to Hong Kong again after the employment visas have been issued. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the reasons for ImmD's adopting the above practice;
| | (b) | of the number of overseas nationals who entered Hong Kong on training visas, as well as the respective numbers of applications for employment visas from such persons and such visas issued to them in each of the past three years; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities will consider streamlining the procedure for overseas nationals' applications for employment visas; if they will, of the details of the consideration; if not, the reasons for that?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*14. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the Accredited Farm Scheme jointly run by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Vegetable Marketing Organization ("VMO"), and the charging of commission from vegetable wholesalers by the VMO, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the qualifying conditions for applying to join the Accredited Farm Scheme;
| | (b) | whether the fruits and vegetables produced by accredited farms are required to be marketed by the VMO; if so, of the reasons for that;
| | (c) | whether local and Mainland farms invested and operated by Hong Kong people are allowed to join the Scheme upon application, and enjoy the exemption that the vegetables produced by them are not required to be marketed by the VMO; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (d) | whether it knows the total amount of commission charged by the VMO from vegetable wholesalers for the use of its facilities and services in each of the past three years?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*15. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the formulation of healthcare financing scheme, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the authorities' considerations in determining when to make public the proposals on healthcare financing;
| | (b) | given that the authorities had undertaken in July last year that proposals on healthcare financing would be published in about six months, but indicated last month that such proposals would have to be announced later as more time was needed for collecting and collating the relevant information, why the authorities were not able to accurately estimate the time needed for collecting information when giving the above undertaking, and whether they will consider outsourcing the work involved; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities will consider providing this Council with the information obtained on the formulation of healthcare financing scheme (including the overseas experience in healthcare financing and the findings of the studies and researches undertaken), as well as the options considered, so that Members of this Council and the public can understand better the Government's work in this respect and the issue of healthcare financing?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*16. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of the respective litres of aircraft spirit, light diesel oil, leaded petrol, unleaded petrol and ultra low sulphur diesel for which duty was paid in each of the past five financial years, and the respective amounts of revenue so generated as well as their percentages in the total hydrocarbon oil duty received in that year?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*17. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that with the growing number of inbound tourists, the problem of insufficient coach parking spaces and pick-up/set-down points at tourist attractions and shopping areas is deteriorating. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the current numbers of parking spaces and pick-up/set-down points for coaches, how the numbers compare to those in the past three years and the projected numbers three years from now;
| | (b) | whether the authorities have studied the latest position of shortage of coach parking spaces since the publication of The Second Parking Demand Study - Final Report in November 2002; if they have, of the study results; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | of the measures to solve the problem of insufficient coach parking spaces at tourist attractions and shopping areas?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*18. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that several major supermarket chains in Hong Kong have respectively signed a "voluntary agreement on plastic bag reduction" with the Government and introduced measures to reduce the distribution of plastic bags. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows if the number of plastic bags distributed by the major supermarket chains participating in the voluntary scheme has reduced markedly since the implementation of the voluntary agreements (please provide supporting figures); and
| | (b) | of the total number of plastic bags expected to be reduced under the voluntary scheme in the coming year, and whether the voluntary scheme can achieve its reduction target or an even higher level of reduction?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*19. Hon LI Kwok-ying to ask: (Translation)
At present, large quantities of goods are transported each day by their owners to the open spaces beside Sheung Shui and Fanling railway stations, where they are collected by consignees and then transported in batches to the Mainland by the East Rail. These goods not only obstruct the access to and from the railway stations, but also create environmental hygiene problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the actions which have been and will be taken by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Transport Department and the Police to reduce the inconvenience caused by the above activities to train passengers;
| | (b) | whether it has considered providing sites near these railway stations for the temporary storage and transfer of such goods; if so, of the places which have been considered; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether it has considered allowing the consignees to enter and leave the frontier closed area so that they can rent buildings within such area as storage spaces and workshops; if so, of the details of the consideration; if not, the reasons for that?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*20. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
According to the consultation paper "Building a Healthy Tomorrow" published by the Government last year, the future direction in the provision of healthcare services is to place equal emphasis on both the public and private healthcare services. However, the Government has not allocated any suitable sites for building private hospitals for quite a long time. It has come to my knowledge that the occupancy rate of private hospital beds has reached saturation recently. Due to shortage of bed spaces, some private hospitals have even been unable to admit patients referred to them by public hospitals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | how it will, in terms of policy and healthcare financing, support the long-term development of private hospital services;
| | (b) | apart from allocating the lot in Wong Chuk Hang, whether it will reserve any land in other districts for the construction of private hospitals so as to solve the problem of shortage in bed spaces in private hospitals; whether such land includes the hospital site mentioned in the report on Kai Tak Planning Review; and
| | (c) | whether it will support healthcare services in Hong Kong through the provision of land and construction subsidy, as it does for educational institutions, in order to encourage approved charitable institutions or trust corporations of a public nature to build more private hospitals?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*For written reply.
III. Bills
First Reading
Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill
Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
Second Reading (Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading| 1. | Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2006 | : | Secretary for Home Affairs
| | 2. | Financial Reporting Council Bill | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
| | 3. | Supplementary Appropriation (2005-2006) Bill | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
|
IV. Motions
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion:
Resolved that the Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 4) Notice 2006, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 107 of 2006 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 24 May 2006, be amended -
| (a) | in section 2(3), by repealing the new section 2A(a)(i) and substituting -
| | "(i) | in another currency to be converted, at an exchange rate specified in terms of a ratio at the time when the loan of money was made, from the currency in which that loan was made; or";
| | (b) | in section 2(3), in the new section 2A(b), by repealing "a currency that is different from that in which the loan of money was made" and substituting "another currency to be converted, at an exchange rate specified in terms of a ratio at the time when the loan of money was made, from the currency in which that loan was made";
| | (c) | in section 3(1), in the English text, in the new definition of "specified date", in paragraph (b), by repealing "general" where it twice appears and substituting "public".
|
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Secretary for Constitutional Affairs to move the following motion:
Resolved that the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Election Committee) (Amendment) Regulation 2006, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 114 of 2006 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 24 May 2006, be amended -
| (a) | in section 5(2), in the proposed section 34(3), by repealing "may at any time" and substituting "may, at any time, with reasonable cause";
| | (b) | in section 14(2), in the proposed section 65(4), by repealing "may at any time" and substituting "may, at any time, with reasonable cause";
| | (c) | in the English text, by repealing section 16(2) and substituting -
"(2) Section 77(1) is amended by repealing "The votes recorded on the following ballot papers are" and substituting "Upon counting of votes, a ballot paper of any of the following descriptions is not to be regarded as valid and the vote recorded on the ballot paper is".";
| | (d) | in section 22(2), in the Chinese text, by repealing everything after "修訂，"and substituting "廢除"或銷毀或"而代以"該選舉廣告，亦可銷毀、塗掉或"。".
|
- Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food to move the following motion:
Resolved that the following Regulations, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 26 June 2006, be approved -
| (a) | the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulation 2006; and
| | (b) | the Poisons List (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulation 2006.
| (The two Regulations have been issued on 27 June 2006
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 686/05-06)
|
V. Members' Motions
- Promoting family-friendly policies
Hon TAM Yiu-chung: (Translation)
That, as in recent years a number of serious incidents of domestic violence have occurred successively in Hong Kong, and cases of suicide, domestic abuse and divorce have been on the rise, reflecting that the cohesion of families in Hong Kong is weakening and there are many hidden crises which are detrimental to the harmony and stability of the community, this Council urges the Government to promote family-friendly policies, so as to create an environment that is conducive to rebuilding family values and enhancing family cohesion, thereby creating a harmonious society; the specific measures should include:
| (a) | setting up a Family Commission to advise the Government on the promotion of family-friendly policies and initiatives;
| | (b) | introducing a family impact assessment system for assessing the impact of existing social policies, legislation and measures on families, with a view to making relevant improvements;
| | (c) | conducting vigorous publicity and promotion campaigns, and strengthening family and parent education as well as promoting family values through community service organizations and schools;
| | (d) | offering tax concessions and funding for pre-primary education across the board to relieve the financial burden on families in Hong Kong;
| | (e) | creating a family-friendly environment in workplace, including encouraging public and private organizations to provide staff with child care services and implement flexible working hours; and
| | (f) | enhancing social welfare services, and providing appropriate and relevant support to families in crisis.
|
| Amendments to motion
| | (i) | Hon TAM Heung-man: (Translation)
To add "the policies on all fronts in Hong Kong have failed to effectively facilitate uplifting the value of the family and the quality of family life," after "That, as in recent years"; to delete "in Hong Kong" after "domestic violence have occurred successively"; to add "comprehensive" after "the Government to promote"; to add "uplifting the quality of family life," after "an environment that is conducive to"; to delete "and implement" after "to provide staff with child care services" and substitute with ", exploring measures to relieve the problem of excessively long working hours, making arrangements where practicable for staff to work at home, studying the offer of additional family-related leave to employees, promoting five-day week where practicable, and implementing"; and to add ", etc, in order that members of the public can achieve a balance between work and family life" after "flexible working hours".
| | (ii) | Hon Albert HO: (Translation)
To delete "and" after "flexible working hours;"; to add "establishing a standing and multi-disciplinary mechanism for reviewing cases of family tragedies with the participation of law enforcement agencies, social workers and relevant government departments, with a view to" after "enhancing social welfare services, and"; and to add "; stepping up publicity and training for frontline staff, such as social workers, police officers, education workers, health care personnel, etc, so as to enhance their understanding of and alertness to the problem of domestic violence; and studying making it mandatory for the relevant professionals to report the domestic violence cases that they handle, so as to assist in curbing domestic violence; and (g) introducing paternity leave so that the spouses of women giving birth can take leave to look after their wives and new born babies at home" after "relevant support to families in crisis".
|
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
- Protecting the Harbour
Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki: (Translation)
That, as today's Victoria Harbour, having gone through a number of large-scale reclamation works, coupled with the prolonged absence of an overall planning for the harbour environment and measures for conservation of natural ecology, has been seriously damaged and polluted, in order to protect the harbour and preserve it as a special public asset and a natural heritage of Hong Kong people, this Council urges the Government to:
| (a) | adhere to the provisions of the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance and the judgement of the Court of Final Appeal, and follow the following three principles in considering the reclamation projects in the Wan Chai Development Phase II and the Kai Tak Development: first, there is a compelling, overriding and urgent need for reclamation; second, there is no viable alternative to reclamation; and third, the reclamation involves minimum impairment to the harbour;
| | (b) | re-plan the Central Reclamation Phase III to reduce the area for commercial development and plot ratio, and minimize the negative impact on traffic flow and air pollution so as to avoid the need for further reclamation;
| | (c) | formulate a comprehensive harbour district plan and policy that are "citizen-centric", "sustainable" and "consistent with the principle of environmental conservation" for enhancing and greening the land facilities on both sides of the Victoria Harbour to enable all people of Hong Kong to get close to, share and make use of the harbour;
| | (d) | consider setting up a harbour district authority as the statutory authority to independently manage, develop and enhance the sites and facilities in all the waterfront areas; and
| | (e) | enhance public awareness of the protection of the harbour environment, promote civic engagement in urban development, conduct territory-wide consultation on harbour district planning and sincerely respect public opinion to enable the public to fully participate, present their views and reach a consensus on the matter.
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| Amendments to motion
| | (i) | Hon Tommy CHEUNG: (Translation)
To delete "coupled with the prolonged absence of an overall planning for the harbour environment and measures for conservation of natural ecology, has been seriously damaged and polluted" and substitute with "which has aroused grave public concern about the future planning for both sides of the harbour and its impact on the environment"; to add "relevant" after "Protection of the Harbour Ordinance and the"; to delete ", and follow the following three principles in considering the reclamation projects in the Wan Chai Development Phase II and the Kai Tak Development: first, there is a compelling, overriding and urgent need for reclamation; second, there is no viable alternative to reclamation; and third, the reclamation involves minimum impairment to the harbour" after "judgement of the Court of Final Appeal"; to delete "re-plan" after "(b)" and substitute with "when planning for land development under"; to delete "to" after "the Central Reclamation Phase III"; to delete ", and" after "commercial development and plot ratio" and substitute with "so as to"; to delete "so as to avoid the need for further reclamation" after "traffic flow and air pollution"; to add "and" after "share and make use of the harbour;"; to delete "(d) consider setting up a harbour district authority as the statutory authority to independently manage, develop and enhance the sites and facilities in all the waterfront areas; and"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "civic" after "protection of the harbour environment, promote" and substitute with "public"; to add "and expression of opinions on" after "engagement in"; and to delete ", conduct territory-wide consultation on harbour district planning and sincerely respect public opinion to enable the public to fully participate, present their views and reach a consensus on the matter" and substitute with "through extensive consultation, so that the Government can adequately respond to the aspirations of the public when planning for developments".
| | (ii) | Hon SIN Chung-kai: (Translation)
To add "and the coastal" after "an overall planning for the harbour"; to add "and the coastal environment" after "in order to protect the harbour"; to delete "it" after "and preserve" and substitute with "the harbour"; to delete "and the judgement of" after "the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance" and substitute with ", and strictly ensure that the reclamation projects in the Wan Chai Development Phase II and the Kai Tak Development will meet the criterion of 'the overriding public need test' set by"; to delete ", and follow the following three principles in considering the reclamation projects in the Wan Chai Development Phase II and the Kai Tak Development: first, there is a compelling, overriding and urgent need for reclamation; second, there is no viable alternative to reclamation; and third, the reclamation involves minimum impairment to the harbour" after "the Court of Final Appeal"; to delete "Central Reclamation Phase III to reduce" after "(b) re-plan the" and substitute with " 'Comprehensive Development Area' in the Central District (Extension) Outline Zoning Plan to ensure, as far as possible, reduction in"; to add "and coastal environment" after "(c) formulate a comprehensive harbour district"; to add "and the coastal" after "public awareness of the protection of the harbour"; to add "the planning for the" after "conduct territory-wide consultation on"; and to delete "planning" after "harbour district" and substitute with "and the coastal environment".
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Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
Clerk to the Legislative Council
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