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06 March
In the second reading of the Workplace Safety and Health (Amendment) Bill, the Minister of State for the Ministry of Manpower Gan Kim Yong said by making the WSH Advisory Committee a full-fledged Council., it will strengthen industry's ownership and cement the partnership to create a healthier and safer work environment for Singaporeans.

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06 March
Thanking Professor Thio Li-ann for her comments, Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed said the Internationally Protected Persons Bill is crucial and will enable Singapore work closely with its ASEAN neighbours to combat terrorism.

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06 March
Nominated MP Thio Li-ann welcomed the move as it allows Singapore to enforce the international law against those who commit offences against IPPs, including transnational terrorist activities. It also provides legal procedures to facilitate the extradition of the offenders.

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06 March
In moving the Internationally Protected Persons (IPPs) Bill, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zainul Abidin Rasheed proposed to effect the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against IPPs. This will extend Singapore’s territorial jurisdiction to deal with offences against IPPs and strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation between Singapore and other countries.

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06 March
Rounding off the debate, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua spoke about the maritime sector, saying that the government is continuing with efforts to maintain Singapore’s role as a leading hub port. On security concerns, the ministry has tightened security within the port and will broaden the focus to secure the supply chain as well.

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06 March
The key to air hub development is connectivity, and the government works to achieve air rights with as many countries as possible, said Mrs Lim Hwee Hua. The Minister of State for Transport pointed out that Singapore has expanded air services agreement with 18 countries last year, including the opening up of the Singapore-KL route for low cost carriers. To keep pace with air traffic growth, MOT is also investing some S$10m to expand the Budget Terminal, with construction works to complete by early 2009. The ministry is also looking at building a new Terminal 4 at Changi Airport.

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06 March
MPs asked for an update on the Transport Ministry’s strategic plans to maintain Singapore as a regional aviation hub amid rising competition from regional players. They also touched on the issue of air rights for Singapore carriers to fly between Australia and the US.

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06 March
Mrs Lim Hwee Hua detailed measures to improve the public transport system to meet the mobility needs of the elderly and the disabled. Addressing the service disruption issue, the Minister of State for Transport said the ministry is working with the train operator to minimise such occurrences and refine its service recovery plans.

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06 March
In part four of the debate on the estimates for MOT, MPs centered their focus on the issue of road safety. They called on the government to improve on barrier-free accessibility for the elderly and disabled, and improve public transport system to meet the needs of the ageing population. MPs also requested for a more coherent and integrated policy towards bicycles as part of the urban transport system.

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06 March
Minister for Transport Raymond Lim disagreed with MPs' suggestions to cut back on ERP gantries or charges, stating that there should be a balance between car ownership taxes and road taxes. He emphasized that the idea for ERPs in congested roads is to discourage people at the margin - even a 5% or 10% shift will be able to lift pressure on heavily used roads. On the taxi issue, Mr Lim said majority of taxis have seen better earnings since the fare increase, by 4.8% for single shift and 1% for double shifts.

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06 March
In this part of the debate, MPs called on the Ministry to review ERP charges, as they said ERPs would not stop drivers from driving and hence would not solve road congestion in the long run. Instead, MPs suggested to the government to increase COE and car prices. MPs also called on the MOT to encourage drivers to switch over to a greener choice of vehicle, as well as highlighted the plight of taxi drivers after the fare increase.

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06 March
In response to the MPs, Minister for Transport Raymond Lim said that population count and social, economic and environmental factors have been taken into account to ensure a high quality living environment with a good transport system in Singapore even until 2020.