But, Madam President, it is our duty to make Members fully aware of the likely consequences. Thirdly, the Government has reservations on the scope of the inquiry as it is so broad that it is tantamount to a full-fledged review of all public housing policies and the entire organisational framework for public housing provision. This is basically the task of the Government. As Members know, the convention has always been for the Government to propose major policy or organisational changes after consultation with concerned parties and, if necessary, to submit proposals to the Executive Council or the Legislative Council for discussion and endorsement. A quasi-judicial Select Committee of this Council shooting questions at selected witnesses is simply not the right forum to consider either the broad range of housing policies or to devise the organisational framework for delivering such policies.
Housing is everyone's concern.
We need to strike the right balance between the interests of various sections of the community. The facts to be revealed in the inquiry relating to only four housing sites out of a total of 106 construction sites of the Housing Authority can hardly provide sufficient information for drawing correct conclusions on overall housing policies and the appropriate institutional framework for housing provision. Moreover, flat construction is only one of the many facets of work of the Housing Authority. If Members should decide to establish a Select Committee, the Government very much hopes that the scope of the inquiry, as some Members expressed today, can be limited and clearly delineated so as to be practicable and achievable within a reasonable period of time. In fact, the proposed remit of the Select Committee will overlap partly with that of the review of the institutional framework for public housing led by the Chief Secretary for Administration.