Should Elizabeth St in Melbourne become a creek again?
    21+

    Elizabeth St in Melbourne is prone to flooding, and beneath the streets runs a creek (Williams creek) which seems to be desperate to reassert itself. Other cities have successfully (re)integrated waterways into their cities, notably Seoul, South Korea. Should Melbourne do the same?

    Asked by:
    @nightlightguy
    Share
    Why are some people “lyrics” people and others not?
    20+

    The lyrics are the last thing that matter to me when I listen to a piece of music (if I can even understand them it’s a plus). But for others they seem to be the most important thing of all (weirdos). Why is this so? Probably it doesn’t matter – I’m just curious.

    Asked by:
    @pinknantucket
    Share
    Why are people so obsessed with having everything ready-made?
    4+

    It horrified people in the 1940s to have packet mixes, because powdered egg reminded them of the Great Depression. Now, people are oblivious, they expect everything to be in packets and forget the chemicals needed to preserve those foods. No more weevils in the flour, but yes plenty of good-fashioned-modern petrol in our flour, sugar, salt, cheese, bread… as well as our bottles of ‘self-care’ products we’re told are ‘necessary.’ You’d think every house-hold was a hotel for astronauts.

    Asked by:
    @initiallyno
    Share
    Is it ethical to replace human care workers with robotic care workers?
    9+

    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.

    Asked by:
    @scarschwartz
    Share
    Why are white people expats and people of colour immigrants?
    22+

    I have always been called an expat, not an immigrant. But shouldn’t that be the same thing?

    Asked by:
    @saidruth
    Share
    Do artists have an obligation to show a social conscience?
    6+

    I have just finished a painting on the Myall Creek Massacre for the Blake Prize. Part of me feels like I should be advocating in my artist statement but I was not driven by advocacy when painting; I was driven by inquiry and emotional turbulence

    Asked by:
    @@artofchad
    Share
    How many does light bulbs does it take to change a politician?
    14+

    People have great ideas all the time- how to help those in need, starting with providing water where there is none, sanitary and hygiene products where they are lacking, food and shelter to those without… but do politicians ever change? We keep electing and fostering a system where the greediest are given the role of decision makers… why is that?

    Asked by:
    @OzHorrorcon
    Share
    Why are literature and arts festivals always so heavy?
    9+

    I know this makes me a terrible person, but our art and literature festivals seem to increasingly skew towards the big (depressing, seemingly insoluble, overwhelming) issues. It must reflect a need, but I feel there also needs to be more space for play, joy, spectacle, experimentation, awe, hope.

    Asked by:
    @pinknantucket
    Share
    What are the problems that money solves? Are there other solutions?
    7+

    Climate change and the arts are two prime examples of areas where seems difficult to apply this metric-based approach. I am curious about alternatives. What if everyone had a smartphone? Could we something radically different emerge?

    Asked by:
    Emmanuel
    Share
    As a community, how can we support a person with a mental health issue, without creating stigma?
    10+

    I have a mental illness in a regional city. I had an episode of anger which I understand is due to acute anxiety, at my daughter’s school. Three years on, people still cower, there is gossip about me, that is of the effect that I am going to coffee shops to ‘meet’ and ‘pickup’ men, and that I am most interested in meeting married men. I am told I have to just move around and amongst the society, (by my psychologist) but I find it safer and apparently I am becoming more reclusive, to remain at home. I don’t condone aggressive behaviour. The school and my workplace, were trying to ‘support’ me, by having psychologists at the school, monitor my behaviour and have people behave ‘accordingly’. I began to feel I was living ‘The Truman Show’, and realise none of my interactions were authentic. Initially those people were being ‘kind’ but misguided, in supporting me, and I guess, my daughter. I have 3 years until she leaves school. I will go ‘somewhere else’. Michael Kirby has spoken of the chaplaincy program being a ‘front’ to filter through students of need/risk. I plod on. This stigma came into my new workplace. I plod on. Btw: this is not my paranoia. Underneath, I find it deeply alienating and distressing.

    Asked by:
    Stigma_or_Getoverit
    Share
    How can we change the culture of secrecy? Is it all about corporatism or something more?
    4+

    Democracy cannot thrive without transparency. Secrecy undermines grass roots participation in affairs that directly affect them.

    Asked by:
    Evelyn
    Share
    Can – and should – men be called feminists … or should feminist-sympathising men be named separately?
    1+
    Asked by:
    Ross Tilly
    Share
    Why are we so reluctant to grow up? Are we more childish than the generations before us?
    24+

    The rise of adult colouring books, the return of the 90’s and just us reaching for things that remind us of our childhood constantly, made me wonder if it was like this for previous generations too or are we trying to postpone adulthood and all that comes with it more than before? Are we longing for simpler times with everything developing so fast around us?

    Asked by:
    Anna
    Share