My question is directed to the Minister for Health. As the sun rose over the fresh New South Wales government signage at Northern Beaches Hospital last Wednesday, a new dawn began for health care on the northern beaches. It was, as Bono sings, "a beautiful day". I thank the Minister for making this happen. Now that the Northern Beaches Hospital is finally public and the new clinical service plan has been published, what should the people of the northern beaches know about local health services changing and expanding?
Mr RYAN PARK (Keira—Minister for Health, Minister for Regional Health, and Minister for the Illawarra and the South Coast): That is a tough act to follow. I thank the member for Wakehurst and the member for Pittwater for their fierce advocacy. I have said before that it was the first issue that the member for Wakehurst and the member for Pittwater came to see me about as representatives of their communities. We need to remember that what initiated this process was not only our concern about the privatisation of public health facilities—a stance that we took throughout our entire time in opposition; it also came off the back of the tragic passing of Joe Massa. Eloise and Danny, the family of Joe, have become incredibly important people, not only in my life but in the lives of the Premier and the Treasurer—and, more importantly than that, the people of New South Wales and the community of northern beaches that they are part of. It is an important day because last week we said finally that public emergency departments need to be focused on patients, not profits. We raised concerns from day one when the previous Government came into this place with the aim to privatise not only this facility but also five other facilities across New South Wales.
This has been, without a doubt, the most challenging negotiation and administrative task I have undertaken, and I think I can speak on behalf of the Treasurer. Thousands of hours have gone into this. It has been extremely difficult to prepare a hospital changeover on the same day that it continues to operate. At seven o'clock that morning we started the big switch back into public hands. But it was off the back of about 12 months hard work. The community can expect to see expanded services for things like cancer, ophthalmology and respiratory, and an integrated mental health facility that I know people in that part of Sydney have been calling for. This will also involve a lot more staff. We will be moving to ratios in that facility—something that the Opposition disagreed with as a policy—at the back end of this year. We will continue to drive improvements because of the committed and dedicated staff who operate and carry out their work at that hospital.
The previous Government once said that privatisation is like the golden key. Having been here for a long time, I remember it. This transaction was more like golden staph. This has been beyond bad.
What I know is that Opposition members may flip-flop on policies, but one thing remains at their core: They believe in the privatisation of public services like health. They believe in it. It is in everything that they are a part of. It is in their DNA. We know that because they wanted to do it five times over. We made clear through the passing of Joe's law that Joe Massa's legacy goes beyond the transition of that facility into a public health facility, albeit that is incredible in itself. Joe's law and Joe's legacy mean that it will become near impossible—certainly very difficult—for a future government to make the same terrible mistakes that the last lot did when those members thought it was a good idea to privatise public health services.
With less than 12 months until the next election, they will move all over the place to try to appease different interest groups. But of one thing you can be certain, and we will be reminding the community: If you vote for the Coalition, it is a vote for privatisation. It is a vote for privatisation of public health services, and it is a vote for capping wages of working men and women. That is exactly the opposite of what we stand for.
06 May 2026, 12:08.