By Dr Peter McLaren, GCMA President

    Dear Colleagues,

I was recently doing the tourist thing on the North Island of New Zealand. I have to hand it to my Kiwi colleagues and work mates, it’s a nice place to visit, eh? - especially with Aussie dollars in your pocket!

Although I like to take a lot of the surprises out of travel by doing a bit of web surfing first, (www.tripadvisor.com in particular) I did manage a couple of unexpected delights. One of these was the Museum in Rotarua. Amongst the many displays there, centred on the Maori culture and the health spa experience, there was a documentary on B Company of the 28 Maori Battalion in WWII. Young Maori men going off to wage war on the other side of the world to protect Britain seemed like a bit of a big ask. The documentary stated that one of the motivations was that they considered it: “the price of citizenship”.

It reminded me of John F Kennedy’s speech in 1961 when he said to the American people, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

How the world has changed since those times! These attitudes seem in stark contrast to the present. We now seem to have politicians rather than statesmen; according to the media, there are no just wars anymore and the cynicism of the electorate is palpable.

This too, is impacting on the sourcing of people for many volunteer and service organisations. I am here in my present role as the President of the GCMA, as I thought that the Gold Coast medical environment would be less without its presence. Less vibrant, less honest, less friendly, I’m not sure? Everyone seems to be more isolated; orientated to family and commercial concerns. I sometimes think that maybe it would be easier for the Association to melt into the sunset and be replaced by a Facebook site!

However, if you are a bit nostalgic and want to stem the tide of history, turn back the clock, etc, please consider re-engaging with our association. We welcome all views. There is no ‘AMA line.’ In fact, our function is more to garner your views and send them up the line.

On Thursday, 27th May, Drs David Liu, Dilip Gahankari and Maria Korditch, together with nurse co-ordinator of the trip, Lisa Kiddle, spoke about the aid work they carried out last year in Kathmandu. There are others on the Coast who also do good deeds and we will be trying to feature a talk each year on their various exploits.

I look forward to seeing you at a meeting soon.

With Best Wishes,

Dr Peter McLaren