Lam Woon-kwong: I'm no parrot for policy

Executive Council convenor Lam Woon-kwong has defended his apparent departure from the government stance on how to tackle gay bias and universal retirement protection, saying there is no need for another "human recorder" to repeat the administration's position.

Lam, formerly secretary for the civil service and director of the Chief Executive's Office, said his views on both issues did not breach the principle of collective responsibility to which executive councillors should abide.

"Non-official members of the Exco are not part of the governing team. We should offer honest advice to the administration," he told the South China Morning Post in an interview. "There is no need for us to come out to defend all government policies as it is already being done by policy secretaries," he said.

"If we were to be human recorders, it wouldn't matter to have one more or one less of this kind of person."

Former chief secretary Stephen Lam Sui-lung earned the nickname "human recorder" for repeating government policy.

Lam Woon-kwong, who will step down as Equal Opportunities Commission chairman in January, criticised the government's refusal to hold a public consultation on outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation.