Verrall Ayesha; O'Connor Greg; Costello CaseyHon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Labour): Mr Chair thank you very much. I would like to take up your offer to have some back and forth with the Minister on topics that relate to the area of the regulation of retail outlets.Firstly I'd like to ask the Minister if she considered keeping the approved retailer components of the Act without reducing the number of retail outlets and if not why did she reject that approach?Helen White: Mr Chair?CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): I'm conscious that it does take two to tango. But Dr Ayesha Verrall.Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Labour): So Mr Chair—Hon CASEY COSTELLO (Associate Minister of Health): Mr Chair can I take a call? I'll just go back around the higher retail density advice. There has been a range of advice received and that's what we've worked through to achieve the repeal legislation that we've got before us. The threshold for entry into the market—there were no minimum requirements previously before this legislation was put in place to reduce the retailers. That's why there are no minimum requirements remaining as we're repealing that component of this legislation.I will acknowledge the poorer health outcomes and we are committed to smoke-free targets. This bill is repealing a process; it does not change the target.Finally in terms of the retail outlets question that was just asked I'd just clarify that again we are repealing the minimum threshold. This is not an end position as I've said repeatedly; we're looking at a range of tools moving forward to ensure that we are targeting the demographics that we know are most adversely affected and we will continue to work on those targets. As opposed to a blanket approach we are focused on a targeted approach to achieve the end goal.Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Labour): Yeah thank you Mr Chair. Perhaps in the time I'm on my feet if the way in which these back and forths are intended to work could be repeated that would be very helpful I think to the type of interaction that the Standing Orders allow us to have here.Look the question was not Why are you not reducing the number of outlets?"; the question to the Minister was "Did she consider retaining an approved retailer scheme?" Not necessarily reducing the number of outlets but did she think that there could be any other benefits to having an approved retailer scheme? How did she come to the decision not only to remove the number of outlets but to remove the approved retailer scheme?Hon CASEY COSTELLO (Associate Minister of Health): Yeah in the spirit of back and forth: as I said before this isn't an end position. We're removing this legislation because we're repealing the legislation that's in there. As I said it's not an end position. We're continuing to work on strategies that will achieve the smoke-free targets.Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Labour): In light of that then I think it could be useful to have a discussion about the pros and cons of that regulatory approach because an approved retailer scheme is similar to a licensing scheme. So I want to ask the Minister: does she think it's right that tobacco retailers don't need to be licensed to sell tobacco or approved to sell tobacco and yet for the much less harmful product of alcohol retailers of alcohol do have to be licensed? I'd like to understand what she thinks about that."