I grew up in cities, but have lived in the provinces for over 20 years, and find it to be a refreshingly connected place to live. I rail against the snobbery of city folk towards ‘country folk’. We have just as many great ideas and cultural practises as cities do.

Capitalism is driven by infinite growth, but the planet cannot sustain this. We are at breaking point now. But it seems to question capitalism is akin to treason.

This question is important because it reflects on the debates, thoughts and conversations that occur across Australian society, which influences public opinion and government policy. It is particularly important when we consider ideas about social progress and human advancement.

I’m annoyed by the illogical and racist emails that I receive from friends whose parents or grandparents came here as so called economic migrants or refugees. Ever since people like Pauline Hanson have come on the scene I’ve seen a change in our culture. I’m sure most Australians don’t want to live in a racist country.

Yay for discovering water on Mars and flying past Pluto and all that, but should we be looking at WTF is happening on our own planet a bit more?

There are varying degrees of mental illness – some are profoundly affected where others are not. In the lesser cases, some of these people display signs of a difficult personality or difficult behaviour, but use the label of mental illness. How do we define which is which, and navigate the tricky terrain where their behaviour affects families, workplaces and relationships?

We have laws, law enforcement bodies, military defence resources, and humanitarian organisations sponsored by Government. Why don’t we just let them do their job without political meddling? If the public don’t agree, political parties can suggest change as part of an election platform and we can vote for it.

My son wants the right to equal time with his children. The Family Court seems to favour women.

Despite increases in living standards and access to technologies, like the internet and social media, measures of happiness haven’t increased. Is social media making people feel connected but actually making them more isolated?