Key events
Anne Davies
Unravelling the Northern Beaches hospital deal is proving very complex because the private and public hospital facilities are interwoven in the same building, which is owned by a third entity.
There are separate public and private wards but all services – from theatres, pathology, x-ray, IT, reception and cleaning to nursing support – are shared.
If a mutual agreement is not reached, the proposed amendments would give the health minister the power to issue a termination notice to Healthscope.
In addition, the treasurer would have the power to ensure that compensation negotiations occur in a reasonable timeframe and to appoint an independent person to determine compensation if agreement cannot be reached.
The alternative to this approach is for the NSW government to exercise its voluntary termination rights, the government said.
Under the PPP contract this would see compensation to Healthscope’s receivers and lenders run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The health minister, Ryan Park, said: “We’ve made it clear from the very beginning that we don’t support this sort of arrangement.
This is a complex contract but the community deserves certainty.
NSW government moves to end partnership deal over Northern Beaches hospital
Anne Davies
The Minns Labor government is arming itself with new powers to terminate the public-private partnership (PPP) with bankrupt Northern Beaches hospital operator Healthscope in the event that it cannot reach an agreement.
The government announced today it would introduce amendments to a private member’s bill brought forward by the member for Wakehurst, Michael Regan, next week so it could – if required – terminate the Northern Beaches PPP contract.
This follows the appointment of receivers to the parent entities of Healthscope, which the NSW government considers a default under the contract.
Healthscope has argued that the termination would be “ voluntary” and would attract compensation as set out on the contract. The government said this would run to hundreds of millions of dollars.
“This is not a decision we take lightly,” the NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, said.
But we are now in a position where the Liberals’ privatisation mess means Healthscope’s receivers are negotiating the future of the Northern Beaches hospital.
While an agreed exit from this failed PPP contract remains my preference, I must ensure the government has the right to step in and protect the Northern Beaches community from this dragging on.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will be in the hot seat.
Israel’s deputy foreign minister told the ABC’s 7.30 last night that her country had “a very close collaboration” with Australian security agencies. However, when pressed on the question she did not elaborate on whether that included sharing intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program. More coming up.
The Minns Labor government is arming itself with new powers to terminate the public-private partnership (PPP) with bankrupt Northern Beaches hospital operator Healthscope in the event that it cannot reach an agreement. More coming up on that too.
