PARKS AND TREES (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Acting Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Parks and Trees Act was enacted in 1975 to provide for the development, protection and regulation of public parks and gardens and for the preservation and growing of trees and plants. The Act was amended in 1982 and 1987.

Trees take a long time to grow. The Act provides for their preservation by allowing the Minister to designate areas within which trees with a girth exceeding one metre may not be felled without the permission of the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation. The Bill seeks to define these areas as "Tree Conservation Areas" and to empower the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation to require the owner or occupier of properties within the Tree Conservation Areas to preserve and maintain the trees on their properties. This will help ensure that mature trees continue to survive and grow.

Where trees or plants pose a danger to life or may damage property, the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation is empowered, under existing provisions, to serve a notice to the occupier of a property to remove them. The Bill seeks to increase the penalties for failure to comply. In such cases, the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation will also be empowered to carry out the necessary measures to remove the source of the danger and to recover the costs for doing so.

The Bill seeks to empower the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation to authorise any person or company to construct and operate facilities in public parks and other recreational grounds. This provision will allow a wider range of facilities to be provided by the private sector in our parks.

The Bill seeks to facilitate enforcement action by improving on the procedures for serving of notices under the Act and its rules. It introduces provisions to allow service of notice on the owner of a vehicle by affixing the notice onto the vehicle. This will facilitate the serving of notices for offences related to vehicles in our parks as in the Road Traffic Act. To deal adequately with deregistered vehicles which have been abandoned in public parks, the Bill seeks to extend the existing definition of a vehicle owner to include the last registered owner.

The Bill seeks to update the maximum penalties provided for by the Act, as they have not been changed since 1982. The penalties will be increased to enhance their deterrent effects.

It is necessary and timely to introduce amendments and update the Parks and Trees Act. The Parks and Trees (Amendment) Bill will enable the Parks and Recreation Department to effectively carry out its responsibilities to maintain and enhance our Garden City.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I welcome this amendment in principle. I think everybody in Singapore loves to see Singapore becoming a green and clean city. This provision in the Bill in regard to felling of trees that are more than one metre in girth does not distinguish the types of trees. Because in the tropics, we have got many softwood trees and they are very fast growing. For example, the Angsana trees are in fact instant trees. So I think there must be a distinction made between softwood, semi-hardwood and hardwood trees. It is wrong to cut down a hardwood tree because its growth period takes a long time. But in the case of some trees, they grow almost overnight. Even if you cut them, they can be grown within one to two years and they will be mature during that period of time. So this Bill does not distinguish this point. I hope the Ministry, in implementing this Act, will take into account whether they are fast growing trees or slow growing trees because I see that the penalty has been increased from $2,000 to $10,000. That is the only point I wish to make.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, the preservation of trees in this Bill is directed at those trees in the Tree Conservation Areas. The Ministry is already making a distinction that, in Singapore, there will be areas where there are many mature trees, both hardwood and softwood, and we would like to keep the ambience in the areas. For such areas, we designate them as Tree Conservation Areas and for trees with a girth of more than one metre, they would not be allowed to be felled. The amendment in this Bill is to also ensure that these trees are maintained. Although such trees are not allowed to be felled, some owners have not taken care to maintain the trees and the trees may suffer and they may have to be felled because of poor maintenance. So the amendment in this Bill seeks to extend both preservation and maintenance.

Mr Chiam See Tong: May I seek a clarification, Sir?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Mr Chiam See Tong: I think you have not answered the point. You have said that you want the trees to survive and to grow. That is very good. But you must see what type of trees. Because there are some trees which are instant trees. So what harm is there in cutting them down because you can grow them instantly? We are talking about hardwood trees. These are the trees that should be preserved. Once you cut them down, you are going to take another 30 years to grow them. I think that is unreasonable. But if you can grow them overnight, what harm is done? No harm is done.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, Mr Chiam does exaggerate. Trees do not grow overnight. Even the Angsana trees took us a long time to grow. If not for the foresight of the Government in insisting that trees be planted from the early 1960s, we will not have the green environment that we have today. So all trees of mature girth should be preserved, whether they are hardwood or softwood.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Lim Hng Kiang].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.