19 Oct 1988 Tynwald Hansard Printed (By Authority) by CORRIE Ltd., 48
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Printed (by Authority) by CORRIE Ltd., 48 Bucks Road, Douglas, Isle of Man. REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF TYNWALD COURT Douglas, Wednesday, 19th October 1988 at 10.30 a.m. Present: The Lieutenant-Governor (His Excellency Major General Laurence New, C.B., C.B.E.). In the Council: The President of the Council (the Hon. R.J.G. Anderson), the Attorney-General (Mr. T.W. Cain), Mr. B. Barton, Hon. A.A. Callin, Mr. E. C. Irving, C.B.E., Hon. E.G. Lowey, His Honour A.C. Luft, Messrs. W.K. Quirk and J.N. Radcliffe, with Mr. T.A. Bawden, Clerk of the Council. In the Keys: The Speaker (the Hon. Sir Charles Kerruish, O.B.E.)(Garff); Hon. A.R. Bell and Brig. N.A. Butler, C.B.E. (Ramsey); Mr. R.E. Quine (Ayre); Hon. J.D.Q. Cannan (Michael); Mrs. H. Hannan (Peel); Mr. W.A. Gilbey (Glenfaba); Mr. D. North (Middle); Messrs. P. Karran, R.C. Leventhorpe and L.R. Cretney (Onchan); Hon. B. May and Mrs. J. Delaney (Douglas North); Messrs. A.C. Duggan and D.C. Cretney (Douglas South); Hon. D.F.K. Delaney and Mr. P.W. Kermode (Douglas East); Messrs. J.C. Cain and Hon. G.V.H. Kneale (Douglas West); Hon. J.A. Brown (Castletown); Hon. D.J. Gelling (Malew and Santon); Hon. M.R. Walker, Dr. J.R. Orme and Mr. J. Corrin (Rushen); with Prof. T. St.J. N. Bates, Clerk of Tynwald. The Chaplain of the House of Keys took the prayers. GOVERNMENT POLICY REVIEW — DEBATE CONTINUED The Governor: I call on the hon. Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Your Excellency, the Executive Council can be proud of its overall record to date. Since the last election it has faced a formidable task overcoming the shortfalls of a previous administration. It had to mould an executive, no easy task in itself and one that will always be substandard in respect of the mould until the viewpoint of the hon. member for Rushen expressed yesterday is accepted and a Chief Minister is given unhampered authority and indeed responsibility. Executive kept its head when the Island experienced communication difficulties. It has reduced unemployment significantly to date and can, sir, claim a broad record of success Government Policy Review — Debate Continued T114 TYNWALD COURT, WEDNESDAY, 19th OCTOBER, 1988 but, Your Excellency, these I suspect, have been the cosy years for this administration, and while a review such as the policy objective we have before us is useful as a guide or a propaganda device, whichever way you care to look at, it inevitably it is a Government paper with all that that implies. Examining it, to me, it reveals a Government at the crossroads excepting perhaps the signs and wishing to follow them all, promising to travel in every direction according to the viewpoint of respective ministers who wish to justify their appointments. In all, I believe, it is attempting to do too much with the great danger that the real issues that face the Island are going to be regarded as secondary to the more grandiose creations which ministers will tell us are essentials of their ministerial responsibility, and that is why I second Mr. Cain's amendment, which is in the interests of Executive itself in that it will be forced to determine priorities, its objectives and give a concise policy document rather than a widespread of ideas which we have before us at the moment. Now, Your Excellency, it is not my intention to unduly extend the protracted debate of yesterday, but there are some points, I believe, as yet unmade and some that need emphasis that occur to me. Strange, to me, that in a document that professes to care there is no mention of the right of individual petition to the Court of Human Rights, no endeavour to find a formula to make this possible which is acceptable to Tynwald, no aspiration also to enter the media world of tomorrow with satellite television and a Manx Wireless Telegraphy Act, no demand, Your Excellency, for 12-mile territorial waters with their fishery and mineral rights. I wonder if any member of Executive has even seen a legal opinion commissioned by this Government on these points many years ago. I am quite sure the Court will be interested in an extract from it. In dealing with fishery problem of the day, is stated, 'The United Kingdom has, as a matter of policy, reflecting defence and strategic considerations favoured only at three-mile territorial sea up to now. However, if the forthcoming United Nations conference produces a treaty regime endorsing a 12-mile territorial sea and this treaty comes into force and is accepted by the United Kingdom, many of the present problems as to Manx jurisdiction over coastal waters and fisheries will evaporate. The acceptance of a 12-mile territorial sea by the United Kingdom would of course mean that complete jurisdiction at present exercised up to a distance of three miles would become exercised up to 12 miles if the new 12-mile zone is identical in all its attributes in law to the old three- mile zone. I can think of no logical or legal reason which the United Kingdom Government could advance to deny Tynwald the enlarged jurisdiction around the Isle of Man. Her Majesty's Government might try as a matter of policy to argue that Tynwald's sphere of legislative competence should not be increased, the mainstay of their present objections to such an increase. The alleged extra-territorial legislative incompetence of Tynwald would, however, have disappeared.' Your Excellency, Her Majesty's Government have accepted 12-mile territorial waters; I can see no reason why we too cannot share that particular international convention. Now, Your Excellency, there is a mention of 1992 and the Common Market, but what I find significant is that there is no reference to the experts who are going to advise the committee. What in fact does the Island know of the implications of 1992 at this moment? Frankly, I would say it has nothing to go on but conjecture. Now, Your Excellency, capital projects are in the region of some £30 million: office blocks, a new ward block at Noble's, extension to the Q.E.II and the report on page 13 acknowledges the need to limit the extent to which Government competes Government Policy Review — Debate Continued TYNWALD COURT, WEDNESDAY, 19th OCTOBER, 1988 T115 with the private sector for scarce construction industry resources. In my view it needs also to limit them so that the Minister for the Environment can get the one essential that is paramount today, and that is housing — housing provision going on at a vastly increased level or pace to that being enjoyed at the present time. I recall that when capital projects come up, the proponents claim that the workers and contractors are specialists and that they are not taking anyone, really, away from the business of house building or refurbishment. To my mind it is nonsense. I would congratulate the housing minister, who is not present this morning, on his drive and enthusiasm, but I believe we make it impossible for him to function effectively as we do not acknowledge the difficulty of the labour market. Let me give you a constituency example. Before the last election the Chief Minister came to Laxey in good faith in respect of a refurbishment programme at Ballacannell, Lonan, a housing estate in my constituency. The tenants who attended a public inquiry were told 'Yes, everything will be done expeditiously' and this was, I believe, the truth in the mind of the minister of the day, but the time scale has doubled; the work is not complete. The contractor who is, I understand, a registered builder should be struck off both the registration line and fired off the site. His workmen are incompetent, they do more damage with respect to their refurbishment programme than they actually do in improvement as they go along. This is absolutely incredible and it is my contention that the ministry are in a cleft stick. They cannot get rid of the contractor, they want to finish the job and if they start changing now, well, they are going to be no better off because they are not going to be able to recruit the resources they want to get on with it. Now I am quoting that not as a criticism of anyone; I am quoting it as an example of how Government itself is unable to get on with refurbishment programmes and, I would also contend, with building programmes if it was in fact to extend those building programmes meaningfully for the future. Now, Your Excellency, this is at a time when evictions are widespread. I have people in my own village at Laxey — eviction notices, premises to be changed over to offices. The planning to change those homes to offices has already been approved. I am not arguing whether the decision is right or wrong but what I am saying is that there is so much planning approval given for office accommodation that it is certainly having its effect on people who are in flats, who have to vacate those flats and premises in order to make way for the office development that is to follow. Is it not time to consider slowing down the office line to enable the housing line to come along in step with it? Your Excellency, the eviction line, the failure to have an adequate council house programme going in the last Government's term of office when we were told the council stocks were more than adequate to meet the future — all these have contributed to the problem that is being faced by the ministry today and which is the most important problem that is being faced, not only by the ministry but by this House.