The lawyer for Dr Jayant Patel’s victims is hopeful an application to have the Bundaberg Hospital Commission of Inquiry halted will have a happy ending.

Former patients were holding their breath yesterday as Bundaberg Base Hospital administrators Dr Darren Keating and Peter Leck completed their legal fight in the Brisbane Supreme Court, but Justice Martin Moynihand has reserved his decision.

Carter Capner Lawyers partner Ian Brown said while the application proposed to either end the inquiry or prohibit the commissioners from making rulings about the pair, other decisions could be made.

“It could be that the Deputy Commissioners (Margaret Vider and Sir Llew Edwards) could be ordered to continue without Mr Morris,” Mr Brown said.

“But you could imagine that if that order was made, the government would give thought to replacing him.”

Mr Brown said if there was a new head commissioner, a ruling could be made that the non-contentious evidence not be repeated and Mr Brown would make an application to prohibit the patients from taking the stand again.

Bennett & Philp lawyer Mark O’Conner said if the inquiry was shut down and recommenced, it would be even more costly for tax-payers.

“(Premier) Peter Beattie has said the inquiry will be finished and it has gone over 30 days and Tony Morris is on $5000-a-day, so there’s $150,000 right there,” Mr O’Conner said.

“The inquiry has probably already topped $1 million.”

Mr O’Conner said if the inquiry was shut down, the decision would be heavily criticised.

But (Judge Moynihan) is a senior judge and he wouldn’t be swayed by public opinion and he would make his decision based on the law,” he said.