NO issue stirs up stronger emotions in the Legislative Council than the members' right to speak. Any suggestion of restricting that right would spark off a heated debate.
Observers of Legco's interminable Wednesday afternoon sittings might have concluded that the age of lucidity is long dead. It is understandable that members jealously guard their right to speak but I sometimes wonder whether it has gone too far.
More than 30 debates were held in the 1992-93 Legco session, usually with two debates held in one sitting. There is a weary feeling in some quarters that Legco must have debated everything under the sun, yet the debates will go on.
In the past few years, Legco has debated a number of subjects to death, such as retirement schemes, public housing, women's rights and the MTR. Apart from the feeling of deja vu, not much seems to have come out of the incessant talking.
I have no desire to dampen members' enthusiasm to speak, but I wonder whether we have succeeded in highlighting the problems and finding solutions.
Many debates are poorly attended because members only turn up to speak and do not stay to listen to others. Under Legco Standing Orders, members can each speak for 15 minutes in debates on bills.
As for motion debates, members agree that the mover of the motion has 15 minutes and the rest seven minutes each. Even with this self-imposed time limit, many debates last more than two hours.
