fourthly, it took Government 6 years to bring this
problem to the attention of the executive and
legislative council;
fiftly, their prime reason, an administrative argument
for repealing this scheme was wrong;
and last but not least, a point raised by my colleague Mr HO Sai
Chu and agreed by all the Members of the Ad Hoc Group, that
considerations should always be given to improving
cost-effectiveness in the execution of the law, rather than
abandoning it because of administrative difficulties. If however
the policy behind a legislation is doubtful, the matter should be brought to the attention of the Legislative Council at the earliest opportunity and not after 36 years.
Sir, it is gratifying to note that all these
administrative bungles had only inflicted a scheme of which the policy is now considered wrong. I would hesitate to guess what
the loss to Government and to the public would be if this scheme
happened to be right.
Council.
Sir, with these words, I support the Bill before
(S8S1:IP MV)