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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (March 10) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on establishing a scheme for sexual offences records checks for child-related work.
The motion, to be moved by Dr Hon Philip Wong, states: "That, as employers at present do not have any channel for checking the past sexual offences conviction records of applicants when recruiting personnel for posts which have close contact with children, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously implement the recommendations in the Law Reform Commission Report to establish a scheme for sexual offences records checks for child-related work, so as to enhance protection for children against sexual assault."
Hon Emily Lau and Hon Audrey Eu will move amendments to Dr Hon Philip Wong's motion.
Members will debate another motion on advocating a low carbon life. The motion, to be moved by Hon Chan Hak-kan, says: "That the governments of various places are actively motivating their people and enterprises to lead a low carbon life so as to address global climate change; in this connection, this Council urges the SAR Government to lead Hong Kong to become a low carbon city through comprehensive policies and setting work targets and timetables, and the relevant measures should include:
(a) to study the establishment of an effective mechanism to enable people to calculate carbon emissions in daily life on their own so as to understand their carbon footprints;
(b) to study the introduction of a 'carbon emission reduction bonus point scheme', whereby the purchase of energy-saving products and reduction in electricity consumption can be exchanged into bonus points which can be used to pay fees of government services and facilities, so as to encourage people to save energy;
(c) to study further expansion of the coverage of the 'Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme';
(d) to actively promote the 'Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme', review its effectiveness and study the feasibility of its mandatory implementation;
(e) to formulate effective policies to enhance source separation of waste, facilitate food waste recycling and reuse, and optimise the use of landfill gas;
(f) to expand the scale of the Government's green product procurement and formulate a labelling system in this respect, so as to facilitate the development of a market for green products;
(g) to promote the development of local organic agriculture and fisheries and improve the labelling system for organic products, so that people can purchase agriculture and fishery products with low carbon footprints;
(h) to encourage enterprises to make efforts to reduce carbon emissions, including offering assistance in conducting carbon audits, upgrading emission reduction technology, and obtaining accredited certification, etc.;
(i) to strengthen greening efforts to achieve the objectives of improving cityscape and reducing heat island effects;
(j) to actively develop green transportation, including electric vehicles, and expand cycling tracks to reduce carbon emissions arising from transport needs; and
(k) to step up publicity and education to encourage people to live a low carbon life."
Hon Audrey Eu, Hon Kam Nai-wai and Dr Hon Priscilla Leung will move amendments to Hon Chan Hak-kan's motion.
On Government motion, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury will move a resolution under the Public Finance Ordinance to seek the Council's approval to give for a sum not exceeding $58,957,489,000 to be charged on the general revenue for expenditure on the services of the Government in respect of the financial year commencing on April 1, 2010.
On bill, Members will resume Second Reading debate on the Genetically Modified Organisms (Control of Release) Bill. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will then go through the Committee Stage and be read the Third time.
During the meeting, Members will also ask the Administration 20 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the Legislative Council InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the Legislative Council web site (www.legco.gov.hk).
Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Legislative Council Chamber. They may reserve seats by calling 2869 9399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Members of the public can also listen to the meeting via the web broadcast system on the Legislative Council homepage.
Ends/Monday, March 8, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:10
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