| Government to introduce District Councils (Amendment)Bill 2013 |
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The Government will introduce the District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2013 into the Legislative Council (LegCo) on February 20 to amend the District Councils Ordinance (Cap 547) (DCO) to implement the abolition of all District Council (DC) appointed seats over one term from 2016 onwards. A Government spokesman said today (February 6), "The views received from the two-month public consultation from February to April 2012 indicated that the community in general supported the abolition of all DC appointed seats over one term. In the 2013 Policy Address delivered by the Chief Executive (CE) on January 16, it is stated that we will amend the legislation as soon as possible to abolish all DC appointed seats from 2016 onwards." The Bill removes all references to the appointed seat, including its status as a component of the DCs, the appointment power of the CE, and the specified maximum number of the appointed seats currently provided for in the DCO. "We plan to introduce the Bill into LegCo for first and second readings on February 20. If the Bill is passed by LegCo, all DC appointed seats would be abolished with effect from January 1, 2016. when the fifth term of the DCs commences," the spokesman added. Ends/Wednesday, February 6, 2013 |