As the boomers get older, aged care will become a key economic issue. Automated systems will also become more sophisticated. We will have to make ethical decisions regarding what industries should be open to the disruption of automation.

Because I believe that talking about death can be life-changing and life-affirming.

Only in Tasmania does January 1 remain as the school start ‘cut off’ date. There’s a variety of dates (30 April, 30 June, 1 May) in the other states. This produces classes with kids with different birth years and different sports age groups. Is this truly beneficial or just confusing?
The old WA and Qld model of starting in the calendar year the kids turned 5 seemed simple and logical. In that old model, finishing the year they turned 17 helped keep alcohol out of schools and moved kids into careers, jobs and life earlier. Has the change to the school age model of ages 5-18, beginning in the first quarter demonstrably improved our national education standard?

As the irrefutable evidence of the effects of human causation of global warming through increasing production of greenhouse gasses gains traction,it seems that a new economic paradigm (other than growth) must be urgently considered. After all, it’s about the survival of the next generation(s).

Is it pace of movement? Does it depend on the way others around you move? Should sprinters be required to wear a helmet if speed and congestion are criteria?

I have many relatives and friends who have died from tobacco related illnesses. We should all care about this. Tobacco is different even from other ‘vices’ (including alcohol) in that it has no health benefit even at low doses. Selling tobacco with its known problems is a ‘dangerous act that knowingly puts the health of others at risk’. These are two important manslaughter criteria. Is the absence of ‘intent to kill’ enough to exclude it?

I think laughter make unbearable subjects more bearable and encourages discussion. I think we are too politically correct and our social interaction is the poorer for it.

The flaws in our Australian law system, reflect the inequity on a world basis. If Australia, a relatively new country, that has a fresh start, is already in a conundrum with it’s inefficient and biased laws, then what hope is there for transparency and justice on a world level? To illustrate, I lent a friend $45,000 for a mutual project. They refused to pay it back, admitting they just spent it. We made a signed legal contract and I have a bank paper trail. Also, a witness who verified his actions signed an affidavit. Yet, this is not enough for me to retrieve my money or for them to go to jail. This person, continuously cons others with small amounts of money, so that legal fees make it unviable to retrieve the lost money. It is clear that I was conned and that they are thief, yet the justice system has no effective recompense for these serious situations. This person should be in jail and working to pay for my loan. I tried going to the local court and followed the procedure of a small claim. After the sheriff failed to find him, nothing could be done. This is a ludicrous system that fails to protect the vulnerable in our society.
I believe there is a long overdue overhaul of our justice system, which protects the unjust, provides extreme wealth to the judiciary and fails to facilitate justice.
I tried Legal Aid, etc and they were unable to assist me.
What do the great thinkers think?

Children belong with their parents and we must always have screening of refugees. This has a potential for another ‘stolen generation’

I had cancer. It was scary.

It’s a global issue and no country has found a workable answer.