Over the past year I have watched my fellow doctors find their voice, notably sparked by Dr Sara Townend, an unsung hero who managed to get all of her professional colleges and the AMA to finally crank up the pressure on the politicians in Canberra. This resulted in a shift in public attitudes, and the Kids Off Nauru campaign has resulted in nearly all of the children on Nauru leaving the small island that had been their world for the past five years.

A victory for decency certainly, and seeing motions being passed in the senate to try and change the current situation of bureaucrats ignoring or overriding doctors opinions on sick people who remain under Australia’s care has also been very gratifying. The disgraceful spectacle of the government refusing to allow this motion to be debated in the house of representatives shall remain with me, and should stand as a shameful testament to a morally bereft administration that would rather see the continued suffering of refugees and asylum seekers  than suffer the ignominy of losing a vote.