Hospital Beds

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:31): Final supplementary arising from the original answer about closing beds on stand-by: will the minister guarantee no doctor or nurse will lose their job as a result of the stand-by closure of these beds?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:31): Can I just reiterate, because the member is either deaf or worse: these beds are not closing. They will be on stand-by, as is normal practice in hospitals around the world. The only people who think that hospitals should be running at 100 per cent capacity are the members opposite. These beds are on stand-by. It is not related to jobs.