Opinion | The budget that should have been

Mr President, I move that the Appropriation Bill 2013 be read a second time. I shall not spend a lot of time today describing the state of the world economy. Hong Kong people are every bit as familiar as I am with the situation in the US, the European Union, the mainland and elsewhere. Suffice to say we shall, as usual, face many challenges, but I am confident that we shall ride out the storms that come our way.

I wish instead to focus on the big picture. The two biggest challenges facing our community today are property prices and providing a reasonable standard of living for the elderly.

Our chief executive has already spelled out in detail the steps he proposes to take to address the former problem by boosting land supply, building additional public rental and Home Ownership Scheme flats, and reining in the excessive speculation in the property market. These measures have my total support.

There will be no tax concessions or other giveaways in my speech today. Hong Kong people are already among the most lightly taxed in the world. They should continue to enjoy their good fortune gracefully. Nor will I be giving further rent holidays to residents of our public housing estates. These tenants are already the most heavily subsidised members of our community.

My proposal is this. With effect from January 1, 2015, every Hong Kong citizen aged 70 or above will be entitled as of right to enjoy a pension paid by a new statutory body to be set up for the purpose. It will replace all our present assistance for the target group.

I recognise that the task will not be easy and much still needs to be thrashed out. But I am clear about some of the key points. First, it must be truly universal, that is, everyone must pay in and everyone must be able to draw out.