| Opening
up ACE Meetings to the Public (without Annexes)
(ACE
Paper 22/2000)
For information by circulation
Purpose
This
paper sets out the points to be considered if meetings of
the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) were to be open
to members of the public.
Background
2.On
22 May 2000, Friends of the Earth issued a press release urging,
inter alia, that ACE should become transparent and welcome
the public to its meetings. A copy of the press release is
at Annex A.
3.The
issue of whether ACE meetings should be open to members of
the public has been discussed before. The last discussion
took place at the 51st meeting held on 18 May 1998. It was
concluded then that ACE meetings should not be open to the
public but that minutes of its meetings should be made available
through the internet. An extract of the minutes is at Annex
B.
Current
arrangement
4.The
following channels currently provide public access to matters
relating to ACE :
- through
the internet - ACE membership, terms of reference, agendas,
papers (other than classified papers of which there are
very few) and confirmed minutes of meetings (with members'
names struck out) are available from the homepage of the
Environment and Food Bureau (http:/www.info.gov.hk/efb).
The public may also use the Suggestion Box in the Environment
and Food Bureau homepage to enquire about ACE matters; and
- through
media briefings - after each meeting, the Chairman accompanied
by the Secretary meet the media and brief them on subjects
discussed during the meeting, the main points raised, and
the conclusions reached. A Question & Answer session follows
the briefing. ACE papers are made available to the media
at the briefings.
Discussion
5.Opening
up ACE meetings to the public would enhance transparency and
enable interested members of the public to observe how ACE
meetings are conducted. This could enhance public awareness
of environmental issues and serve a public education purpose.
In practice, we believe that only the media are likely to
attend the meetings regularly.
6.
On the other hand, opening up meetings could inhibit discussion,
particularly of controversial issues and constrain members
from giving their views freely. It is also likely that the
discussion may become more politicized.
7.At
present, minutes of ACE meetings available on the internet
do not make reference to individual members. If ACE meetings
were open to the public, this practice would become meaningless.
Practical
considerations
8.The
conference room in the Environment and Food Bureau can accommodate
only a few spectators (probably about five, depending on the
number of individuals attending for the discussion of specific
items). If members decide that ACE meetings should be open
to the public, we will either have to limit the number of
spectators or find an alternative venue. We will also need
to draw up guidelines on how to entertain requests to attend
and rules of behaviour for attendees.
Advice
sought
9.Members
are invited to give their views on whether meetings of ACE
should be open to members of the public.
Environment
and Food Bureau
June 2000
|
|