As a member of the medical profession:
I solemnly pledge to dedicate my life to the service of humanity;
The health and well-being of my patient will be my first consideration;
I will respect the autonomy and dignity of my patient;
I will maintain the utmost respect for human life;
I will not permit considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient; […]
Declaration of Geneva (World Medical Association 2017)
(a) To improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities by supporting the pursuit of clinical excellence and high quality patient care, clinical practice, education, and research for general practice. […]
(j) To advocate on any issue which affects the ability of members of the College to meet their responsibilities to patients and to the community.
RACGP Constitution November 2025
I’m standing for the presidency of the RACGP because, as doctors, our ethical foundations seem to be coming into direct conflict with an accelerating corruption of the shared values, laws, and institutions on which our ethics are based.
And despite the urgency of dealing with this rush towards what increasingly looks like some form of tyranny, I’m not hearing our leaders, medical or otherwise, fully rising to the challenge. Instead, what we often hear is silence, or dissent presented so carefully that it becomes just a louder form of silence. And as the price of any kind of dissent is steadily increased, the silence seems only to grow.
As a doctor, I can’t help but see what is happening in our societies now as some kind of auto-immune disorder doing its unpleasant auto-immune thing. Attacking multiple systems concurrently while weakening our ability to fight back. Destroying key parts of our wellness while hiding behind a misdiagnosis. Never sleeping, unaware it is steadily working its way towards its own decay.
I’m not here to set out a series of demands or provide all the answers but I do believe our College can aspire to speak loudly and clearly in defence of a future in which our society once again values honesty, compassion, and equity.
The College is already successful in supporting us to train and develop as GP’s, and to advocate for general practice as a key part of healthcare.
Maybe it is time for the College to step up and help prevent the destruction of the values on which this success is based.
Symptoms and prognoses
GP’s are good at spotting patterns and subtle signs suggesting threats to our patient’s health. A flare of anxiety and anger one week, returning a week or two later with an increased appetite but no weight gain. Noticing a mild tachycardia on quick exam, finding a fine tremor and the hint of lid lag on further examination, and while waiting for the TSH to come back the patient presents with florid hyperthyroid symptoms.
Out there in the world beyond our clinic door, we can see some patterns and subtle signs playing out in a scenario unthinkable ten years ago, or even three years ago, watching in real time as the agendas and actions of much of our political, administrative, and business elites coalesce around cruelty, division, and self-interest. Their version of the future increasingly appears to consist of something which might, possibly, be diagnosed as tyranny, fascism or totalitarianism, or just an oligarchy of old white dudes. The emerging auto-immune flare, and its impacts on us and our patients, seems to feature:
Weakening or removing controls on environmental destruction, denying climate change
Treating the victims of climate change and pollution without being able to name the cause.
Encouraging racial and ethnic cleansing
Losing dedicated GPs to intimidation or deportation for being from the wrong place, following the wrong religion, or being the wrong colour.
Erasing indigenous history and struggles
Rolling back treaties and land rights, undermining any progress to date in righting or even acknowledging past wrongs, making first nations Australians refugees in their own lands. Doctors limited to putting band aids on systemic problems and unable to advocate effectively.
Undoing protections for the vulnerable or non-conforming
Patients hiding their true identities from us in fear of being exposed, no longer trusting us to treat them with respect and confidentiality
Attacking women’s health and rolling back women’s rights
Women’s power and roles (even more) determined by men. Doctors required to police pregnancy and monitor fertility. Losing strong women in medical leadership roles as they are asked or required to “step back” from authority over men.
Criminalising and suppressing dissent or protest
Unable to express disagreement with health-harming state policies or actions without fear of reprisal
Promoting war at home and abetting those waging illegal wars overseas
Watching the horrors of preventable conflict deaths and destruction. Becoming targets of any war closer to home as the new rules of combat provide no protection for medics.
Undermining our sovereignty in favour of being a colony of elsewhere
Required to implement the policies of a foreign power, perhaps to pay more for pharmaceuticals to match more expensive countries, or demolish universal healthcare to be saved from socialism
Can we respond to this as GP’s? How much unnecessary suffering could we prevent? What power do we have?
Even though we are far from “just” GP’s, we don’t control the world. But I believe our strong ethical foundation and commitment to the service of humanity gives us a reserve of moral authority not granted to those whose lives and careers focus on personal gain or power. As GP’s we are privileged to support our patients through some of life’s most difficult challenges and transitions. And we are consistently rated among the most trusted professionals.
How might our College help build on our trusted role?
Firstly, by acknowledging the problem as a key part of its strategic planning.
And secondly, by having the courage to work with its members to develop plans to speak and act, alone or in concert with its allies, to undo the damage already done and to prevent its recurrence. I would like to see the College focus on producing a clear plan for how we can oppose the worst of the above trends, consulting widely with its members and feeling empowered to ask difficult questions and advocate for views which may challenge and confront power.
We also have the moral authority, individually as respected medical professionals, to call out the forces of division and hate, and support those who are organising to resist.
