The ACT Legislative Assembly has passed a controversial bill giving the government the power to take over Calvary Public Hospital in as little as 33 days.
Earlier this month, the government announced its plan to acquire the land and assets at the Bruce site and transfer staff to Canberra Health Services.
The government has promised to build and run a new hospital at the existing Calvary site. It said it would allocate more than $1 billion for the proposed facility, which could be under construction in 2025.
The takeover is set to happen on July 3, but a threatened legal challenge by Calvary could derail the government's timeline.
'An attack on faith': Opposition
In debate ahead of the legislation passing, the Canberra Liberals' acting leader Jeremy Hanson was scathing of the government and, in particular, Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
"It is impossible not to conclude that there is an element that involves an attack on faith," Mr Hanson said.
"Whether Mr Barr denies it or not, that is how the people of many faiths are feeling."
He added that a petition against the compulsory acquisition of Calvary had received more than 32,000 signatures, saying: "those voices should not be ignored".
Mr Barr did not directly address Mr Hanson's accusations, but said the "decision wasn't taken lightly or made hastily".
The Chief Minister told the Assembly the acquisition was "imperative" to support a "rapidly growing" city.
"By 2060, the population in the north side of Canberra is projected to grow by at least another 200,000 people," he said.
Adding that "the ACT Health directorate suggests that by 2041, we will need more than double the current capacity provided at the 1970s-built Calvary Public Hospital".
The bill was passed on Wednesday afternoon with support from the ACT Greens, which partner with ACT Labor in government.
Legal challenge looms
The bill's passing was the trigger Calvary Health Care — a subsidiary of Catholic-run Little Company of Mary — had been awaiting before commencing any legal proceedings against the government.
On Tuesday, Calvary Health Care chief executive Martin Bowles said the company saw no alternative but to take legal action after a series of unproductive meetings with government officials.
"We believe that it is an invalid piece of legislation ... and we will challenge that in the courts," he said.
But Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said she was confident the legislation could withstand any legal challenge.
"We're confident that we're on very strong legal ground here and so I would hope that any legal challenge will be resolved quickly," she said.
"What I would really encourage Little Company of Mary and Calvary to consider is the disruption that this will create or the uncertainty that this will create for Canberrans."
But Mr Bowles instead argued it was the government that had failed to consider staff and patients.
"Maybe [Ms Stephen-Smith] should have thought about staff and patients before she made this pre-dawn raid, [giving] people no notice," he said.
"We're supposed to transition in a matter of weeks. It's unbelievable."
Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton has also waded into the debate, calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to intervene and override the law.
"The Commonwealth government can and should intervene to override the ACT government and make clear that it will not stand for this outrageous, hostile takeover," Mr Dutton said.
But federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the stoush was a matter between Calvary Health Care and the territory government.
However, he added that he did not believe the ACT government's decision had anything to do with the hospital being Catholic-owned.
"This here in the ACT, as I understand it, is an operational decision by the ACT government. I've not had any request for involvement, and I'll leave it with those two parties," he said.
