Port Macquarie hospital dispute in court
By Anne Casey
The Port Macquarie Hospital Action Group was caught off guard on May 6 when bulldozers and other heavy machinery began clearing the site of the controversial new private hospital for the region. A community action picket line had prevented this for the previous two weeks but the picket was lifted following the initiation of an action in the Land and Environment Court seeking to set aside the council's approval of the construction.
The development application for construction of the hospital was approved by Hastings Municipal Council in very controversial circumstances. A referendum conducted by the council last September registered 61% opposition to the private hospital, but this was ignored by the council.
The Hospital Action Group is fighting the case on three grounds — that the zoning of the land is incorrect, that the council did not take public submissions into consideration and that it did not take public interest into account.
Don Mackay, secretary of the group, says, "We are confident that we can succeed and in consequence we will have demonstrated to the government that the 'user pays' philosophy which underpins the proposal has no place in public health.
"More importantly, the judgment by the court will significantly contribute to the body of law concerning the duties of council when considering developments which impact significantly on local communities."
The company that has the contract, HCOA (Health Care of Australia) is a subsidiary of Mayne Nickless. This company is one of the largest private hospital operators in Australia.
Says Mackay, "Now they're aiming to get a foothold into the privatisation of public hospitals and they're being given every bit of assistance in this. Their contract stipulates that the Health Department cannot build or extend upon any of the public hospital facilities within the region for a 20-year period. This gives the company a 20-year monopoly on health services for this entire area."
The case comes before the Land and Environment Court on June 9. Donations can be sent to the Hastings Hospital Action Group Fighting Fund, PO Box 1492, Port Macquarie 2444.