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As I have said, Sir,
will
go;
said, Sir, I do not intend to go through each of the amendments suggested by Members today but I trust that the changes to the Bill when it appears in the gazette on Friday will
on Friday will meet most, if not all, of the criticisms which have been made. "Strangers"
SO will "intentional
disrespect;" a revised clause will express the general principle that Council business should be in public leaving Members to decide when, if at all, they need to conduct some business in private. There must
be trust in the Council to use its good sense and have
regard to the public interest when deciding to exercise this power.
It is a necessary characteristic of all
should be free to
As Miss Tam has
Legislative Councils that they debate the issues of the day and to reflect public opinion in the course of informed debate. For this purpose too, and in order to carry out properly their duty to scrutinise legislation and to control public
expenditure, they need powers to be enabled to
investigate relevant material. pointed out we have already seen in this Council the development of the work of the Finance Committee in public, the examination of witnesses in the Public Accounts Committee to audit public expenditure, and
most recently, a select committee established to
investigate problems associated with the modern phenomenon of complex commercial crimes. To enable Members of this Council to act in the public interest to investigate topics that are of public concern, the Council must enjoy powers to require the attendance of members of the public with information or knowledge to impart and to produce documents and to give evidence. As has been pointed out however the arrangements in paragraph 16 of the Bill as presently drafted are too