But whether a contract with the not-for-profit sector could be torn up to create an entirely public hospital remains a mystery. 

Opposition spokesman for health Walt Secord has said a Labor government would be “committed to restoring the privatised hospitals to public ownership whenever and wherever such agreements allow us to move public health back to public hands”. 

That commitment comes with a disclaimer – reviewing the contracts and any penalities in those agreements.

It’s a move that Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison said showed Labor would lead a responsible government. 

“Walt’s comments and positioning around that is obviously reviewing the contract – we would do that on entry into government as any good government would do,” she said. 

“The real issue is we need to build this hospital … I’ve been working on it for six years.”

When asked whether Labor could tear up a contract with the not-for-profit sector, if the Coalition government had signed off on one and construction had started, Ms Aitchison could not offer any answers. She did say Labor’s plan was very clear and well thought out. 

“On what the government has been saying, and what they have been doing, there is no way to answer that question,’ she said. 

“If you go back to it they have told us every year since 2015 at least that they have a treasury case, they’ve got a business case, they know what they’re doing … We haven’t even seen a clinical services plan. The minister has still got it within his power to back flip … and make it a fully public hospital.

“That could still happen, and that’s the fight I’m interested in, not about what may or may not happen if they may or may not get their ducks in a row and actually build the thing.”

Parliamentary secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said Labor’s plan created uncertainty. 

He could not say whether the government had enough money to build a publicly funded facility that was suitable for the region’s growing population. He said Labor’s plan, if implemented, would delay construction. 

“You’ve got the opposition saying they might tear up a contract, so immediately people who are thinking of tendering or thinking about being involved in the construction will think ‘is this something I want to get mixed up in,” he said. 

“If they went ahead and did it; restart the whole process and reset under a new contract it could be a delay of six months, a year, or more.We have put up $450 million and that is locked in.