By Graham Matthews
PORT MACQUARIE — Nurses and local residents are planning a rally outside state parliament in Sydney on October 28 in an effort to stop the privatisation of their hospital services. Green Left spoke to one of the organisers of the campaign, Don Mackay.
The campaign to prevent the closing of the existing public hospital, and its replacement by a privately run hospital, began in November 1990. The Liberal health minister at the time, Peter Collins, promised the commissioning of a 200-bed public hospital.
Soon after the 1991 elections, the state government began to claim it had insufficient funds for a public hospital, Mackay explained. The government proposed to commission Mayne Nickless (the largest private hospitals company in Australia) to build a privately owned hospital, with arrangements for 73% of bed space to be contractually used by the public health system for public patients.
Since its inception, an overwhelming majority of Port Macquarie residents have rejected the privatisation plan. In a referendum on the issue organised by the local council, 61% opposed the privatised service. In addition, 90% of nurses working in the existing public hospital, oppose privatisation, Mackay said.
The alternative put forward by the residents is the expansion of the existing public hospital, which stands on prime land overlooking the coast. Revamping of the existing hospital by the addition of a further 60 beds would cost $60 million, "one-quarter the cost of the Mayne Nickless option", Mackay explained.
Don Mackay sees the privatisation of the Port Macquarie hospital as a preamble to the privatisation of the entire public health system in NSW. "If Mayne Nickless gets a foothold in here, it's going to be an Americanised health system in no time", Mackay said. Privatisation on the same model is already mooted for Hawkesbury, Coffs Harbour, Liverpool and elsewhere.
Since the private hospital was proposed, the Coalition has spent in excess of $20,000 to convince residents it is necessary.
Residents of the region have waged a continuous campaign against privatisation for months. Nurses at the existing public hospital carry out a continual rolling strike every Monday and Thursday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., against the privatisation. A series of public meetings attended by more than 1000 people have been held in protest against the government's intentions, and organising meetings are regularly attended by 70-100 people, Mackay said.
The local state member refuses to represent her constituents' wishes on the issue, and the government ignores the residents' wishes. More than just an issue of privatisation, Mackay argued, "the challenge is democracy".
Should the state stoppage of nurses and October 28 protest fail to halt the privatisation, the next step for the residents was to picket the intended site for the hospital, Mackay said. The Building Workers Industrial Union has promised support for the picket.
Two bus loads of protesters will travel to Sydney for the October 28 protest, picking up picketers from the closed Wallsend hospital in Newcastle on the way. "If we can't get support once this one starts, privatisation of hospitals will take over the state", Mackay warned.