Hospitals, Winter Demand

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (15:07): Supplementary question arising from the original answer: why did the minister sit on this strategy if it was ready so early, and why did the minister tell the chamber there was nothing in writing if there clearly was?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:07): What I have repeatedly told the chamber is that there is a whole range of elements of the Winter Demand Strategy, some of which were released—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Order! Minister.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Get ready for a personal explanation, Wade. You told two different things, then and now.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Maher, can we just calm down for a little bit and allow the minister to answer so I can listen to him. And you can refer to him as 'the honourable'.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: My point to the council is that the government was engaged with a whole range of winter strategies before the system overview was released and a whole range of strategies have been implemented since the system overview was released.