Senators to vote on Calvary Hospital inquiry

The Senate will consider whether to hold an inquiry into the ACT government’s controversial takeover of Calvary Hospital.

Senators will vote on whether the ACT government’s controversial takeover of Calvary Hospital will be referred to a formal inquiry, as the Catholic health provider awaits detailed legal findings on its failed legal challenge to the move.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan lodged a motion on Wednesday to refer the forced acquisition of the north Canberra hospital by the ACT Labor government to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee.

The inquiry would probe the takeover’s impact on other health services in the ACT, its ­effects on other private healthcare providers, the ACT government’s consultation process before, and the “legal and economic implications of a compulsory acquisition of that nature”.

A vote on the motion is expected on Thursday, with Senator Canavan understood to be seeking support from ACT independent senator David Pocock.

A full bench of the ACT ­Supreme Court last week rejected Calvary Health Care’s legal challenge arguing Barr government legislation to enshrine the takeover was invalid, paving the way for the ACT government to build a new hospital on the Bruce site.

The hospital was criticised this year by an ACT parliamentary committee, chaired by Greens member Jonathan Davis, for its reluctance to offer abortions.

The decision has been criticised by religious leaders, who say it sets a dangerous precedent that governments can ­legally acquire faith-based institutions.

Senator Canavan said the quality of health services available in Canberra had declined over the decades and the inquiry would examine the state of the Territory’s health system.

The case will return to court later this week.

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