(1) Did he receive the necessary supporting documentation from the NSW Government in August 1999 for the provision of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner for Liverpool Hospital under the Federal Adjustment and Relocation Scheme.

(2) Did he state in a press release dated 23 December 1998 that subject to the supporting documentation, he expected the hospital to have an MRI as soon as possible.

(3) Has he delayed the approval of funding for an MRI scanner for Liverpool Hospital under the Scheme; if so, why.

(4) When will he approve funding for an MRI scanner at Liverpool Hospital.

(1) No. An application was provided to the Department, however it did not meet the full eligibility criteria.

(2) Yes.

(3) No. Despite the issue of the MRI Adjustment and Relocation Scheme being put on hold pending the outcome of the Blandford Review of MRI, the funding would not have been approved, as the application did not meet the necessary eligibility criteria.

(4) I have recently appointed the MRI Monitoring and Evaluation Group. Part of their charter is to revise the original Adjustment and Relocation Scheme in order to provide incentives for eligible MRI units to be relocated to tertiary referral hospitals without one. The Blandford MRI Review also recommended that up to seven additional units be recognised for eligibility. These are to be located in areas that are comparatively under-serviced and a tendering process will be used to determine these locations. While the specific criteria have not yet been established, Liverpool Hospital may well qualify under one or both of the schemes outlined above.