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The article about Dr Simon Rose raises the question “what is the purpose of AHPRA” (“This doctor treats patients who others won’t touch. AHPRA wanted him gone”, February 8)? I was chairman of a state health board whose prime objective was the protection of the public. Almost all complaints to my board came from fellow practitioners about highly technical breaches of the relevant act and invariably had nothing to do with the actual practise of the practitioner. It seems to me that debarring Dr Rose will leave his treatment cohort with considerably less medical care, which is surely not in the public interest. The AHPRA boards need to have members who genuinely represent the public, and who are not political appointees. Hopefully, common sense will prevail. Dr Keith Masnick, Woollahra
Congratulations to Charlotte Grieve on her investigation into the work of Dr Simon Rose. This man deserves our full support, congratulations and praise for his outstanding contribution providing health services for the underprivileged. Instead, he is subjected to a witch-hunt by bureaucrats from the AHPRA. Michael Tancred, Lennox Head
Name-dropping hubris
Maureen Dowd, expanding on her case that the pit of Donald Trump’s machinations is bottomless, notes that in egomaniacal fashion Trump “tries to tattoo his name on everything” (“Trump’s Obama derangement syndrome drags him to a new low”, February 8). Shortly before the 2016 US presidential elections, I stood with a small crowd outside Trump Tower in Fifth Avenue in New York’s Manhattan listening to a busker mocking Trump, never for a moment dreaming that a decade later the names of many buildings, places, programs and such of national and cultural significance in the US would be prefixed by “Trump”, a Boschian-like nightmare scenario. This narcissistic grasping for immortality with self-naming should be an urgent warning to US citizens to look at the kinds of people in history who developed a “cult of the personality”, such as the 20th-century Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo and North Korea’s Kim Il-sung. Contrary to Shakespeare’s Juliet, names matter, in this case being an index of a dangerous, outsized ego. It is far more than what I have seen described as “just graffiti”. Paul Casey, Callala Bay
Trump’s careless whisper
Jacqueline Maley discusses the absence of Donald Trump’s name in the latest release of the Epstein files (“Epstein files bolster conspiracy theories that we once dismissed”, February 8). Trump has recently said that this clears him of any wrongdoing. I think he is confusing clearance and redaction. There is a video of the younger Trump at Epstein’s shoulder where he is seen laughing, smirking, pointing and whispering into Epstein’s ear. It would be interesting to hear what a lip-reader would have to say about this. Valerie Bray, East Killara
Hard to swallow
Parnell Palme McGuinness’ use of an extended dieting metaphor about “economic Ozempic” camouflaging “vote-hungry politicians”, and advice from “famous yo-yo dieter Oprah Winfrey” to make her point about just how bad Labor’s economic credentials are is just silly (“Obese government needs trimming”, February 8). Regardless of rising inflation, I’m not convinced that the expansion of Medicare bulk-billing is reckless and benefits “a political party, rather than the public”. It’s a bit rich to single out Labor for so-called “vote-buying policies” when previous Coalition government rorts (sports and carparks come to mind) that “put political appeal over genuine care for the wellbeing of Australians” are still very fresh in our memories. To use her own language, I think Parnell might have bitten off more than she can chew here. Kerrie Wehbe, Blacktown
Subsidies cost the Earth
Every time I see the federal government referring to billions spent on some project – this time $1.7 billion on Antarctic operations since its 2022 election (“Scientists fear for the future of Antarctica”, February 8), I cannot help comparing it to our subsidies for coal, gas and diesel. In 2024-2025 Australian taxpayers subsidised the industries that scientists tell us are driving three quarters of global heating and the “really rapid loss of Antarctic sea ice” with $15 billion. How on Earth can these numbers possibly make sense? How much unprecedented fire, flood and ice melting will it take to force our politicians to stop giving our money to the industries that are destroying our planet’s liveability? Lesley Walker, Northcote (Vic)
Housing divide
A woman who appears not to need government assistance wants to sell her home for $19 million (“Enviro accessories queen lists $19 million Clontarf home”, February 8). As she purchased the home in 2015 for $7.29 million, that looks like she’s made about $1 million tax-free per year, while many are struggling to buy even a basic home. Comments, prime minister or treasurer? Jock Brodie, Port Macquarie
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