Canberra Liberals acting leader Jeremy Hanson and shadow health minister Leanne Castley. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
The forced acquisition of Calvary Public and the subsequent takeover of Clare Holland House have made national news, as much for the threat they pose to business in the Territory as the supposed clash with reproductive rights and the introduction of voluntary assisted dying legislation in the near future.
Protestors mushroomed at the Assembly and the issue has popped up everywhere from the pages of The Australian to the ABC’s 7.30, as Calvary Health deploys a legal arsenal to defend its rights and the government sharpens its legislative tools.
One voice has been mostly absent, conspicuous not quite by its silence but more by its low impact and light touch. Where are the Canberra Liberals on this highly divisive issue?
There’s been some reaction in the Legislative Assembly and the matter was mentioned by Jeremy Hanson in his budget reply speech.
The Liberals have called the acquisition “disgraceful” and “appalling”, and Canberra Liberals MLA Elizabeth Kikkert – who also heads up the Standing Committee into Public Accounts – has chastised her committee colleagues for choosing not to hold any investigative processes into the enabling bill.
But other than that, it’s been fairly low key.
The Liberals’ focus has been on dragging up the costs of light rail Stage 2b again and being told, again, that it would make no sense to reveal the number while negotiations for the project are ongoing. This is hardly surprising to anyone who has managed commercially sensitive major project discussions.
Light rail is a perennial, indeed overwhelming, focus for the Liberals. They believe it’s the government’s Achilles heel, while Chief Minister Andrew Barr thinks the silent majority approve of both light rail and the Calvary takeover.
He may well be proved right in the end as the Calvary takeover unfolds, but there’s no doubt the way the takeover has been done has profoundly shocked many Canberrans and, indeed, many Australians.
One would have thought the Calvary issue was tailor-made for the Liberals to shine.
It pits government powers against private business rights. A much-loved institution where many Canberrans have received values-driven care is being subsumed to meet needs arguably stemming from the ACT Government’s inability to manage the health care system over decades.
There’s even the religious freedoms element so beloved of the previous federal government, ranged against the reproductive rights principle dear to many on the left.
So why aren’t the Liberals leading the crusade against the Calvary acquisition?
Where are their alternative ideas for fixing ACT Health, one of the Territory’s most persistent problems? Where are the Liberals’ considered policies on Northside health provision in one of the fastest-growing areas in Australia?
Where’s the detailed response to a significant issue around sovereign risk, outlined clearly by Business Chamber chair Archie Tsirimokos?
Once again, the lack of informed, considered, well-thought-out policy alternatives is apparent. There is little of substance beyond the adjectives.
As the Liberals enter their 23rd year in opposition with an election ahead of them in 2024, they must solve this problem.
Substantial issues need substantial reactions. There’s plenty of political theory around big and small campaign targets, but surely that works best when voters have some grasp of what the opposition actually stands for. A small target strategy won’t work for a party that hasn’t been in government since 2001.
Last week, MLA Peter Cain echoed an opinion piece in The Australian when he called for the government to be sacked.
The Twitter responses said it all. “Try getting people to vote for you, dude”, one read.
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