Thursday September 25th
Special meeting of Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene
8 deputations attended the special meeting to discuss the sub-standard lard incident. Hong Kong Catering Industry Association criticised the Government for publishing a list which has affected some restaurants who didn’t use the lard at all. Food and Health Bureau said it will lay out laws to regulate the use of lard and forbid it to use for humans.
Tuesday September 30th
Subcommittee on Rules of the High Court (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2014 and Rules of the District Court (Amendment) Rules 2014
Dennis Kwok (FC- Legal, Civic Party) was elected as Chairman. The amendments are to make uniform the appeal mechanism after trials of interpleader issues, whether they have taken place before a judge or master, with or without consent of parties. The appeals will all be handled by the Court of Appeal. The subcommittee will file for extension to continue the scrutiny of the amendments.
Bills Committee on Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2014
Discussion continued on allowing phased withdrawal of MPF upon early retirement and terminal illness. The administration said that in light of a sudden illness which will render a patient unable to express himself, his legal representative, including his family, can apply for MPF withdrawal for the patient. Discussion underway.
Joint meeting of Panel on Economic Development and Panel on Environmental Affairs
47 deputations were scheduled to voice their views on the Third Runway Project and its Environmental Impact Assessment Report. Deputations such as the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and Hong Kong Airlines welcomed the Third Runway project but some green groups objected to it.
Monday October 6th
Special meeting of Panel on Environmental Affairs
Review on the Third Technical Memorandum for Allocation of Emission Allowances for Power Plants in order to prepare for a new allowance standard starting from 1 January 2019. The administration said that another review will take place next year after the new fuel mix is set. Kenneth Leung (FC- Accountancy, Professional Commons) asked if CO2 should be included in the emission allowances. The administration replied that there is no country has included CO2 in their emission allowances nor any current technology to curb the emission of CO2 except for using alternative energy sources.
Tuesday October 7th
Meeting of Bills Committee on Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2014
13 deputations were scheduled to voice their concerns on allowing phased withdrawal of MPF upon early retirement and terminal illness. Hong Kong Retirement Schemes Association was concerned with the abuse of power of the MPF Authority by allowing it to disclose information to other regulatory bodies against the interests of scheme members.
Joint meeting of Panel on Economic Development and Panel on Environmental Affairs
45 deputations were scheduled to voice their views on the Third Runway Project and its Environmental Impact Assessment Report. While some deputations favoured the Third Runway project on the grounds that it can bring jobs and improve the competitiveness of Hong Kong, green groups objected to it in general. Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society considered the EIA report “unacceptable”.
