In November 2022, Waikato GP Dr David Smylie received a dinner invitation from a sales rep that opened “Ate Marie Everyone”. Late that night, he fired back a four-sentence private reply, joking about the typo and grumbling about the amount of te reo in her email. You might not agree with what Dr Smylie said, but it wasn’t sent to a colleague or a patient. Her manager complained to the Medical Council. Within days, Dr Smylie had written an apology. The Council never passed it on, at one point claiming it would “interfere with an active investigation”. When the rep was later interviewed and the committee chair floated a meeting with him, another member warned her off: “it’s tough calling out racism.” The Professional Conduct Committee found his comments “objectively racist, offensive, and insensitive”. Whether he meant any harm was “of little consequence”. His four sentences had “the potential to contribute to current health inequities”. The penalty was a year of what the Council called an “Educational Programme”: monthly sessions with a supervisor who reported back on him, readings on colonisation and institutional racism, and strategies for managing his “implicit biases (which are inevitable)”. He was expected to pay for it, at $125 an hour plus GST. To finish, he had to write two essays, including 1,000 words on structural racism in New Zealand health care. In almost 40 years of practice, nobody had complained about his care. The committee’s ruling noted he had “not yet” received a complaint. He sat through all twelve sessions and refused to write the essays, on a matter of principle. Dr Smylie now practises overseas. Health NZ is short of doctors and recruiting from abroad. The Medical Council has driven one out over a private email. Dr Smylie tells the full story on Free to Speak: In November 2022, Waikato GP Dr David Smylie received a dinner invitation from a sales rep that opened “Ate Marie Everyone”. Late that night, he fired back a four-sentence private reply, joking about the typo and grumbling about the amount of te reo in her email. You might not agree with what Dr Smylie said, but it wasn’t sent to a colleague or a patient, and was remarkably minor. Her manager complained to the Medical Council. Within days, Dr Smylie had written an apology. The Council never passed it on, at one point claiming it would “interfere with an active investigation”. When the rep was later interviewed and the committee chair floated a meeting with him, another member warned her off: “it’s tough calling out racism.” The Professional Conduct Committee found his comments “objectively racist, offensive, and insensitive”. Whether he meant any harm was “of little consequence”. His four sentences had “the potential to contribute to current health inequities”. The penalty was a year of what the Council called an “Educational Programme”: monthly sessions with a supervisor who reported back on him, readings on colonisation and institutional racism, and strategies for managing his “implicit biases (which are inevitable)”. He was expected to pay for it, at $125 an hour plus GST. To finish, he had to write two essays, including 1,000 words on structural racism in New Zealand health care. In almost 40 years of practice, nobody had complained about his care. The committee’s ruling noted he had “not yet” received a complaint. He sat through all twelve sessions and refused to write the essays, on a matter of principle. Dr Smylie now practises overseas. Health NZ is short of doctors and recruiting from abroad. The Medical Council has driven one out over a private email. Dr Smylie tells the full story on Free to Speak: youtu.be/Hn1ahDIwf6k?si=eeHh… Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142. youtu.be/Hn1ahDIwf6k?si=eeHh… Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142.