“When a government works so hard to avoid scrutiny, it is appropriate to ask why. Why? As acting Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson said, the acquisition ‘tramples over staff, it tramples over trust, it tramples over democratic principles’,” writes MICHAEL MOORE.

WHY the rush? The government moved within a few weeks to introduce legislation, ram it through the ACT Assembly and planned to complete the takeover of Calvary within about a month of the legislation passing. 

It is fair to assume the driver for the speed is political.

Liberal Elizabeth Kikkert MLA drew attention to the way the government was running roughshod over normal Assembly processes during the debate on the legislation. As chair of the Public Accounts Committee, she is used to the process of scrutinising expenditure and legislative processes.

She told the Assembly, “common sense requires that the single largest acquisition since self-government crucially requires a committee to engage in careful scrutiny”. 

On the contrary, in an unusual step when the legislation was introduced into the Assembly, Labor and the Greens combined to allow debate to occur before the tabling of any committee report. 

A key element of effective government in the ACT has been the principle that the executive government of the day does answer to the parliament. It is an important piece of accountability and one of the reasons that the early Assemblies retained strong crossbench participation.

One seriously disappointing element is the demonstration in this vote that the Greens have traded off this accountability role to now participate in a genuine coalition. This coalition approach is distinct from the early days when Shane Rattenbury accepted a role as minister where he could also maintain his crossbench independence.

So why the rush on Calvary? Avoiding scrutiny processes regarding this acquisition? The Estimates Committee processes will be a key time for interrogation of the government’s actions. 

Politically, the government has determined it is far better that Estimates Committee processes happen this year. There is still time as the Estimates Committee for this year is due to report on August 18.

If the acquisition falls into the following year’s estimates and review processes, it will be in the lead up to the ACT election with inquiry sittings and reports just months before the October 19 election in 2024. 

Having these sorts of actions in the media in the lead up to the next election could prove very embarrassing for both Labor and the Greens.

There will also be the inquiries into the annual and financial returns of the ACT government. This is a time when the annual reports of the departments are examined in detail.

Additionally, Assembly committees can gird their loins and find ways to look at the range of issues raised by this acquisition. I wrote last week that the Greens’ Johnathon Davis, as a member of the government and chair of the Standing Committee on Health and Community Wellbeing, explained “I believe we understand these problems and the government is implementing the solutions”. How apt it would be for his committee to test this through a proper inquiry? 

The standing committees that examine planning, social policy and accounts would all have good reason to examine the acquisition from different perspectives. And there is always the possibility of establishing a select committee or a Royal Commission to purposefully examine the issue holistically.

However, this would mean scrutiny. When a government works so hard to avoid scrutiny, it is appropriate to ask why. Why? As Acting Opposition Leader, Jeremy Hanson, told the Assembly, the acquisition “tramples over staff, it tramples over trust, it tramples over democratic principles, and it tramples on common sense”. 

In mid-May I wrote about Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith’s comment suggesting “new state-of-the art facilities under the Canberra Hospital Master Plan that will transform the hospital over the next 20 years”. 

At the same time as announcing the acquisition, the Chief Minister, Andrew Barr, has announced a $1billion hospital for the northside of Canberra.

Forward thinking is certainly welcomed in politics, especially when it is combined with genuine action to ensure commitment into the future. 

However, this is not the first time that the ACT government has spruiked the idea of building hospital infrastructure into the future. 

Is it coincidental that the timing aligns with the announcement to acquire Calvary Public Hospital? 

If the government allowed time for sensible scrutiny, Canberrans may well be convinced not only about the $1billion commitment but also about whether the acquisition of Calvary is warranted.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.