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MRS CARNELL: No, I do not think it is acceptable, which is the reason that, in the new agreements with the hospital, we are targeting the areas of most need, one of which is orthopaedic, as you rightly said. Elective orthopaedic surgery, remember, is done at Calvary; so I think it is important to look at the overall waiting list figures. We simply have to have, No. 1, extra admissions, unlike the previous Government. Mr Connolly got $14m more in his health budget last year, and how many more admissions did he budget for? Not one. So $14m equalled not one extra admission. It showed what happened; the waiting list continued to get bigger. What we have to do is target the areas of most need, which certainly include orthopaedics.

Commercial and Retail Leases - Code of Practice

MS TUCKER: My question without notice is to the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Mr Humphries. The Liberal Party, along with all other parties and Independents, promised a review of the code of practice for commercial and retail leases within six months of the new Assembly being elected. Can the Minister give the Assembly an indication of when this review will commence?

MR HUMPHRIES: Indeed, I did promise that there would be a review after six months. I am not sure whether the previous Government had envisaged the same timetable; but I certainly indicated, during debate on the introduction of the code in the latter half of last year, that that would be the case. I have asked my department to prepare a brief for me on how we would go about constructing that review of the code. I might say that the process is still an early one. There have, for example, been very few cases before the Tenancy Tribunal, which was set up at the same time, and it may be hard to tell at this stage just what the extent of the success of that process might be. It may be that six months is a little earlier than we need to be looking at for getting an effective view about how the code is performing. However, I have indicated that that will be the case, and we will do that. I am very happy to consult with members of other parties in the Assembly about how we would best be able to assess the effectiveness of that code so far.

MS TUCKER: I ask a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Can the Minister offer the Assembly an assurance that the principal tenant and landlord groups will be involved in the review and that there will be public submissions?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I have asked my department to tell me what they suggest would be the best way of conducting that review. I see no explanation as to how we could do that without the involvement of those organisations and without public submissions. Subject to what processes we will have to go through in assessing that advice, I am very happy to indicate that that is my preference at this stage.

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