Progress on an inquiry into the telecommunications market may have to wait until April, with Communications, Commerce and Information Technology minister to-be Paul Swain still recovering from a near-fatal illness.
Swain admitted himself to hospital with a perforated bowel on December 20 and was gravely ill for some time. He is now expected to make a full recovery and is dealing with some matters from his hospital bed but may not be back at Parliament until April.
Swain told @IDG last year that he had hoped to have the inquiry in place by Christmas and reporting its conclusions mid-year. He said he had a number of individuals in mind for the inquiry team.
Swain was also keen to advance the ideas outlined in his Labour Online e-commerce strategy paper, including an e-commerce summit early this year and progress on new laws for the electronic era.