Church, Coalition slam Calvary ‘attack’

The Prime Minister is facing backlash from both the Catholic Church and ACT Labor-Greens government over the hospital takeover.

Anthony Albanese is facing renewed pressure over the Calvary Hospital.

Anthony Albanese is facing a two-pronged attack from political and Catholic Church leaders over his failure to intervene in the ACT Labor-Greens’ government decision to compulsorily take over Calvary Catholic public hospital.

Peter Dutton has described the Prime Minister’s failure to intervene in the compulsory takeover of the Canberra hospital as disgraceful and support for “an extraordinary attack on freedom of religion”.

The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher has also called for a direct email appeal to Mr Albanese to ask for intervention to protect religious freedom and reassure religious organisations they will not have contracts for health and aged care “ripped up”.

Mr Albanese’s failure to make an “urgent intervention” as requested by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ conference was a “major disappointment and disgrace” according to the Opposition Leader and Senator Michaelia Cash, Shadow Attorney-General, and Anne Ruston, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care. “This is an extraordinary attack on freedom of religion and on the rights of private and religious healthcare providers to care for the sick. It sets a dangerous and unsettling precedent for every faith-based school, aged-care provider, or social welfare service,” the Liberal MPs said.

Archbishop Fisher said in an email to religious supporters that the hospital takeover was such an “egregious” action that concerned even secular medical organisations about staff and treatment.

“This is a bigger issue than Calvary. If the ACT government can do this to a Catholic hospital, then what is to stop them or any other government doing it to a Catholic school or nursing home?” Archbishop Fisher said.

“Please join me in asking the Prime Minister to ensure that other governments around Australia who might feel emboldened by what the ACT government is doing will not be able to just tear contracts up and remove faith-based operators from public institutions,” he said.

The ACT government is expected to rush through legislation as early as Wednesday to compulsorily acquire the northern Canberra public hospital with plans to pull the hospital down and build a new hospital on the site.

On Monday, Mr Albanese told The Australian: “The provision of services by Catholic and other faith-based entities in health, aged care, education, childcare, welfare and other areas is an important part of Australia’s social infrastructure.”

Mr Albanese, who backed the ACT government’s health plans, also said the compulsory takeover should not be “seen as providing any precedent by the ACT Government and should not be by anyone else”. But Mr Albanese did not intervene in the takeover as the Catholic bishops had requested he do so urgently.

The Coalition is arguing that the commonwealth should intervene to prevent a precedent allowing the takeover of religious aged-care, health, childcare and education services.

“This is a Territory law. The commonwealth government can and should intervene to override the ACT government and make clear that it will not stand for this outrageous hostile acquisition,” Mr Dutton said.

“The federal Coalition is both amazed and aghast at the manner in which the ACT government has gone about this process – with little consultation or contact with the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn who have successfully operated this facility for decades.”

Archbishop Fisher said: “Calvary has been running the hospital for 44 years and still had another 76 years to go under its agreement with the ACT government, but the government is planning to tear up the agreement and move in on 3 July, taking over the land and operations.” A petition opposing the takeover started last week has reached 33,000 signatures in a total population of 450,000 in the ACT.