Ministerial Responsibility

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (15:03): Final supplementary: on all briefings that require the minister's signature, does he actually sign them and return them to the department?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:03): The fact of the matter is that whenever a briefing is put to me, I seek to read it and to sign it. The fact of the matter is that many briefings become superseded by later events, and a new briefing is prepared. It is a very broad question. The fact of the matter is that I will continue to diligently discharge my duties, reading a range of briefs. To be frank, not all briefings are to be sent back. For one thing, I have the mountain of parliamentary briefing notes. The fact of the matter is that I will continue to diligently discharge my duties to the best of my capacity, and I am pretty confident that it is going to be better than most members on the other side.