The NSW government is seemingly complicit in a quiet takeover of publicly funded hospitals by a Catholic Church group, and there is a risk that patients will be left unable to access legal procedures that the church does not agree with – something already an issue at the Calvary-run Mater hospital in Newcastle (“Fears over Catholic influence in hospital”, November 3).
asserted
church → fund → hospital
Like the nursing homes, if they are taking public patients and public money, Calvary should commit to allowing legal procedures on its premises regardless of its religious bias.
asserted
Calvary → take → bias
And we, the public, should be imploring the NSW government not to allow this subtle eroding of our rights.
asserted
we → implore → rights
I am horrified at the thought of Calvary Health Care taking over four hospitals in Sydney and two in the Hunter following the collapse of Healthscope.
asserted
Care → horrify → Healthscope
It has taken a huge amount of blood, sweat and tears to extricate the Northern Beaches Hospital from a private operator to return it to public hands.
asserted
It → take → hands
The last thing we need is for the Minns government to enter into contracts with Catholic Health Care, thus risking equitable access to essential basic health care, including assisted reproductive health technology, termination of pregnancy and voluntary assisted dying.
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government → need → pregnancy
Dr Stephanie Short, Woy Woy
I have a fear that a Catholic takeover of some of our best hospitals will limit choice for many – particularly the right to VAD.
asserted
takeover → have → VAD
I’ve had a number of friends die peacefully, surrounded by their loved ones, at a time of their choice.
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number → have → choice
It has been a positive experience for them and assisted others with their grief.
asserted
It → assist → grief
A transfer to Catholic health would restrict this choice.
asserted
transfer → restrict → choice
Dr Katriona Herborn, Blackheath
Patients should not lose access to lawful medical services simply because their hospital has been taken over by a religious organisation.
asserted
hospital → lose → organisation
Religious freedom does not give anyone the right to impose their beliefs on others, particularly in matters of reproductive and end-of-life health care.
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freedom → give → care
The NSW government has the authority to regulate hospital licensing and protect patients’ rights.
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government → have → rights
If it allows religious doctrine to determine which medical services remain available, the government is complicit in the erosion of those rights.
asserted
government → allow → rights
Cancer patients in Newcastle face difficulty accessing VAD because Calvary already runs the Mater hospital.
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Calvary → face → hospital
This change to Catholic ownership should not prioritise the religious beliefs of private institutions over the rights of dying patients.
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change → prioritise → patients
The licence transfer should be made only on the condition that Calvary must allow access to VAD in all its hospitals – public and private.
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Calvary → make → hospitals
Rose Bird, Woy Woy
Everyone in NSW has the legal right to access voluntary assisted dying.
asserted
Everyone → have → dying
The state government should not allow organisations such as Calvary Health Care overriding this because of its religious beliefs and denying this to their patients.
asserted
organisations → allow → patients
Dianne Elliott, Newport
Address public woes
Our prime minister is overseas at CHOGM (“Democracy, MPs at risk amid rising violence: PM”, November 3) and speaking of reduced social cohesion and the need to turn down the “emotional temperature” following attacks on politicians, most recently Helen Haines, Independent MP for Indi.
asserted
minister → rise → Indi
Surely it would be useful to look at why people are so angry and disconnected.
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people → look → ?
Many commentators write of people feeling they don’t belong to society and are not being heard.
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they → write → society
Working people are being badly affected by rises in interest rates, but big companies have minimal tax on their exports, for example, gas.
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companies → work → example
The discrepancy in GST revenue between the eastern states and WA needs addressing.
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discrepancy → need → states
The federal government could help state governments here to reduce inequity.
uncertain
governments → help → inequity
Minimally regulated building of data centres close to people’s homes causes anxiety.
asserted
building → regulate → anxiety
These things must be addressed to “turn down the temperature”.
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things → address → temperature
Peter Hartcher (“Epic contrast of control and chaos”, November 3) presents the disturbing development of how the world’s two greatest powers are adopting two increasingly polarising and diametrically opposing positions.
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powers → present → positions
But to become the winner in a global contest, having such irreconcilable extremes places humanity at a defining moment.
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having → become → moment
With the evolution of multicellular life having taken billions of years to reach the level of human intelligence we have today, it threatens to extinguish us all with nuclear weapons.
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it → take → weapons
So the question I put to both leaders is this: If you want to prove to the world that you are the best, why not place the survival of humanity as the greatest prize towards which both you and your entire nation can aspire?
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you → put → which
Peter Hartcher’s thoughtful analysis of the pervasive and ruthless dictatorship under the iron rod of Xi Jinping is a sad indictment of a system that was supposed to work for its people.
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that → suppose → people
We mock the chaos that is now the USA but at least it is still possible to mitigate Donald Trump’s power by vote.
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it → mock → vote
China, when we visited it briefly in the 1980s, was a fascinating and friendly country.
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we → visit → 1980s
Peter Hartcher actually makes the case for the adoption of aspects of the Chinese model.
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Hartcher → make → model
As scathing as he routinely is of China’s alleged repressive, one-party system, coercive rock-solid supportive foundation and standardised reporting across media outlets, I detect a wistful enviousness for the same here, minus the actual repression.
asserted
I → detect → same
Before we careen into the identical extremes of the USA’s political barbarism, sham voting system and chaos, and the wholesale rioting of democratic Europe, perhaps we ought to take a few leaves out of the China book and see that it might not be quite so bad as painted by the Western propaganda machine.
uncertain
it → careen → machine
Like our own, the Chinese system may not be perfect, but it is relatively stable, non-aggressive at the international level, and very successful, more so than the West, at doing many things right.
uncertain
it → do → things
Frederick Jansohn, Rose Bay
Vote not assured
Many Americans who voted for Trump feel betrayed and abandoned by the man who was going to make everything great again (“Judgment day for Trump’s reign of error”, November 3).
asserted
everything → vote → error
These people may not vote for him in the midterm elections, but that doesn’t mean they will support the Democrats.
uncertain
they → vote → Democrats
…and 42 more, not listed.
The Aporia
