Socialist Alliance calls for compulsory acquisition of Newcastle and Hunter Valley private hospitals

In the wake of a powerful public rally for women’s reproductive services, organised by the Hunter Workers Women’s Committee in Muloobinba/Newcastle on November 8, Steve O’Brien, the Socialist Alliance candidate for Newcastle, called on New South Wales Labor to acquire the Newcastle and Hunter Valley Private Hospitals, which are about to be taken over by Calvary Health Care.

Calvary, which is run by the Catholic Church, has confirmed that it will cease in vitro fertilisation (IVF), elective abortions, voluntary assisted dying (VAD), and gender reassignment procedures if it acquires the two Newcastle-based private hospitals later this month.

Calvary is planning to take over 14 private hospitals across the country from Healthscope, which collapsed earlier this year.

The rally, organised by the Hunter Workers Women’s Committee, called on Labor to ensure that any transfer of the two private hospital licences will protect access to existing lawful healthcare. It also said there must be no reduction in patient choice and for no one in the community to be left worse off. 

Protesters called on Labor to “decline the transfer of licence if Calvary refuse to maintain the provision of lawful healthcare, including IVF, pregnancy termination, vasectomy, contraception, gender-affirming healthcare and VAD”.

It said Labor should change the law to ensure that future transfers of hospital licences can have conditions applied.

O’Brien told Green Left that the best way to protect public health is for the NSW government to “compulsorily acquire these hospitals and run them as public hospitals that provide all these essential health services”.

“In 2023, a Labor-Greens government in the ACT compulsorily acquired Calvary Public Hospital in Canberra’s northern suburb of Bruce. This ensured that these important women’s reproductive services, as well as other healthcare services, were available to the public.

“Calvary Health challenged this in the ACT Supreme Court but failed to stop the hospital being taken into public hands. So Premier Chris Minns has no excuse not to do the same with Newcastle and Hunter Valley Private hospitals.”

NSW MPs have a chance to act during the November 17–19 sitting week before the Calvary takeover on November 30. Their decisions can be followed here.

[Steve O’Brien is running for the Socialist Alliance in Newcastle in the March 2027 NSW elections.]