Regan's Northern Beaches Hospital Deed Termination Bill Passed
Wakehurst MP Michael Regan has joined that club of rare individuals who have successfully tabled a private members bill that has passed. Although he may have a little more work to do to match the MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich’s’ tally, as with Mr. Greenwich, Mr. Regan put forth a bill that relates directly to addressing an adverse impact on his community.
On June 27 2025, The Hon. Ryan Park, Minister for Health, Minister for Regional Health, announced Legislation passed overnight will allow the Minns Labor Government to step in and bring an end to the Liberals’ privatisation disaster at the Northern Beaches Hospital.
‘The passage of this bill draws a line under the Liberals’ failed privatisation experiment at the expense of acute public hospital care.’ The government stated in a release
The bill, introduced by the Independent Member for Wakehurst Michael Regan, allows the Government to terminate the failed PPP contract as if a hospital operator default had occurred, if a negotiated outcome with Healthscope and its receivers cannot be reached.
It remains the preference of the NSW Government that a negotiated agreement on the future control and operation of the Northern Beaches Hospital can be achieved.
In the absence of agreement, the government now has the authority to intervene and avoid a prolonged dispute for members of the community, hospital staff and NSW taxpayers.
The legislation gives the Health Minister the power to issue a statutory termination notice to Healthscope, ensuring there are no windfall gains to the company or its receivers.
The Minns Government has been clear in its opposition to the Liberals’ privatisation model when it comes to delivering acute public health services.
Earlier this month, the government banned any repeat of the Liberals’ failed PPP public health model in the future.
This second piece of legislation gives the government stronger powers to clean up the Liberals’ mess and reset the operating model for the Northern Beaches Hospital.
Discussions between the Northern Beaches Hospital Taskforce, Healthscope and its receivers remain ongoing, and the NSW Government is hopeful of a productive outcome.
NSW Health will continue to work closely with Healthscope to ensure that patient safety and continuity of services at the Northern Beaches Hospital will not be compromised as negotiations continue.
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:
“This equips the government with the ability to step in and end the Liberals’ privatisation disaster once and for all.
“We have banned any repeat of the Liberals’ failed privatisation model into the future.
“We don’t take this lightly.
“We remain hopeful of reaching an agreed exit from the failed PPP contract. But now we have the ability to step in and protect the Northern Beaches community from this dragging on.”
Health Minister Ryan Park said:
“We don’t want to have to use this power.
“But the extent of the mess the Liberals left us to clean up leaves us with few options.
“I still believe we can resolve this through negotiation, but we have to put the community, the patients and the taxpayers first – no windfalls, and no delays.”
Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby said the passing of the Health Services Amendment (Northern Beaches Hospital Deed Termination) Bill 2025 proves the power of independents to drive meaningful reform.
The bill, introduced by Wakehurst MP Michael Regan, gives the NSW Government a legal pathway to exit the failed public-private partnership with Healthscope and return the hospital to public hands. It passed with government support.
“This puts power back in the hands of the public,” Ms Scruby said. “The Pittwater community deserves better than a hospital in receivership and years of delays. This bill allows for a fair exit and a better future.”
“This is a major step forward. But the process must now be transparent – the public deserves to know what the hospital is worth, how compensation is calculated, and when we’ll see improvements in care and governance,” said Ms Scruby.
“I commend Michael Regan and welcome the government’s support. Independents are delivering real results for our community.”
The MP for Wakehurst, Mr. Regan, stated: "This is a huge win for our community because it gets us one big step closer to getting the hospital back into public hands, where it belongs!"
His address to the chamber on Wednesday June 25 2025, can be read in Hansard, and is well worth visiting here.
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