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A petition against a public-private partnership for Maitland’s new hospital will be tabled in NSW Parliament on Wednesday.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that the petition had attracted 11,486 signatures – breaching the 10,000 required for it to be debated in Parliament.
The petition calls for the state government to abandon its investigation into a PPP for the new hospital.
“It's great to see such a great community response, over 10,000 signatories is a large proportion of the Maitland community to have taken the time to support a public hospital for Maitland,” Ms Aitchison said.
“I encourage people who still haven't returned the petition to continue to drop them off, and we will see if we can get another debate in the Parliament.
“I am keen to keep the government to account, to stop them privatising our hospital services.”
The government called for expressions of interest from the private sector last year to run and operate the new Lower Hunter hospital at Metford.
The plan for a PPP has been widely criticised by Labor, healthcare workers’ unions and other parts of the community.
But the government and Hunter New England Health have said the new facility would offer comprehensive healthcare to public patients – even under a PPP.
The PPP was one of the key issues debated during a public forum in East Maitland on May 15, which attracted more than 200 people.
Nick Bielby
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
