If you think people can be too young to think clearly because their brain is far enough from a healthy adult human’s as to represent one unsuitable for decision making you necessarily must draw the same conclusions around aged brains.
What I am saying is that all of us, no matter our age, are affected by multiple, complex factors and that we shouldn't be too quick to generalise. Our body does wear down but this doesn't have to affect decision-making. Some go to their deaths in their 90s with a very lucid mind, some start getting dementia symptoms in their 40s and some a lot earlier, including childhood. We are all affected by a society which tends to promote health-reducing habits and environments for reasons of profit and then there are genetic factors in the mix as well. There's quite a bit of research at present on healthy old age.
From the moment we are born, we are one day closer to our death but that doesn't mean we must accept how we fare according to general trends. Our intelligence changes, not only declines, and we can play a conscious role in this.
We're on the same page but not the same paragraph.
If we're gonna be ageist and generalise I'll add my 20c worth. In your mid-twenties you are neither more or less sharp than in your mid-sixties or even seventies. Much has to do with genetic, developmental, cultural and particularly lifestyle factors. A twenty-something person who has lived in physical, social, or cultural deprivation is unlikely to be as sharp as a sixty-something person who has lived in relative affluence which would be marked by healthy nutrition, reasonable educational opportunities, contacts, stability, etc.
General knowledge is also culturally loaded.
Anyway, I won't rave on. The gist is that generalising about personal attributes like age, gender, etc, is a bit silly and not useful. They cannot be used as sole indicators of anything. We grow and develop out of a complex of factors and we need to implement real democracy, as you say, and also work towards a much fairer and just society than we have now.
I also think that 16-year-olds could vote but it should not be obligatory until they turn 18.
I'm not so sure that weighted votes would be illegitimate (but I am not an expert). If young people's voice had more weight they could counter some of the awful decisions being made.
According to the article, there is already weighted voting in Australia, not by age but by place. If the weight-loading was legislated I can't see govts changing the weighting easily.
Israel has continued to systematically obstruct access to healthcare in the West Bank and deliberately dismantled the healthcare system in Gaza.
Healthcare workers, patients, ambulances, and hospitals have all been targeted.
On 26 October 2024, during a raid on Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza, MSF surgeon Dr Mohammed Obeid was arrested with 57 others. He is one of more than 95 Palestinian healthcare workers who remain detained by Israeli forces. To this day, Dr Obeid remains in an Israeli prison without charge. We continue to call for his unconditional and immediate release.
The genocide has decimated the health system’s workforce in Gaza, and this will take years to replace. At least 1,700 healthcare staff have been killed since October 2023, as well as 15 of our own MSF team members, many of whom worked tirelessly for decades. Nobody is safe in Gaza.
I guess the author of the above opinion piece, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, International President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) who worked as an emergency doctor in Gaza in 2024, would not be able to express it if he were based in Australia, without the threat of losing his right to practice.
The hearing did not examine claims that AHPRA had also come under sustained lobbying from pro-Israel organisations before adopting the IHRA definition.
MWM previously revealed that AHPRA’s decision followed months of lobbying by the Australian Zionist Health Alliance and other advocacy groups, including calls for Untersteiner’s removal and repeated engagement with senior government officials.
They've gone after the medicos. Which other professional field is next? This is intolerable.
This sounds really interesting. Do you know if there is anywhere else I could read the article? I am not on any other social media other than this one.
My impression is that it is not only economic. Other factors play a role, e.g. technology interfering with natural relationships and self-image, perceived climate change effects on their future, the effects of non-nutritious foods on the body (and therefore mind) to name some.
Still, because the horses, mice and allsorts are now out of the bag, perhaps there will be more investigation and pressure to find out who's done what. On the other hoof, it's such an enormous industry it wields a lot of power over govts, like other mega industries.
Living as I do in a region that is LNP & PHON heartland you hear all manner of arguments against renewable energy projects. For all their 'patriotism', these parties seem to not really care about what we are facing as a nation or as a continent.
If you too come across people of that mind set, this little blog piece can give you some great talking points.
New South Wales Greens politician Abigail Boyd used parliamentary powers to force the production of thousands of documents from the NSW Food Authority, revealing what she says are serious weaknesses and a lack of transparency in the system.
Apart from the lying and profiteering, there's the issue of animal welfare and people's health. Horses are slaughtered in knackeries, not in abattoirs (which supposedly only slaughter animals for human consumption). Knackeries must comply with their state or territory animal welfare legislation but every state differs, so if there is horse meat in your mince you do not know under what conditions in was slaughtered. If you want to know a little more: https://www.farmtransparency.org/kb/food/knackeries
The siblings claims may or may not be genuine but I'd be chuffed if many more young overseas-located Israelis refused to go back to Israel and became vocal against the regime.
What I am saying is that all of us, no matter our age, are affected by multiple, complex factors and that we shouldn't be too quick to generalise. Our body does wear down but this doesn't have to affect decision-making. Some go to their deaths in their 90s with a very lucid mind, some start getting dementia symptoms in their 40s and some a lot earlier, including childhood. We are all affected by a society which tends to promote health-reducing habits and environments for reasons of profit and then there are genetic factors in the mix as well. There's quite a bit of research at present on healthy old age.
From the moment we are born, we are one day closer to our death but that doesn't mean we must accept how we fare according to general trends. Our intelligence changes, not only declines, and we can play a conscious role in this.
We're on the same page but not the same paragraph.
If we're gonna be ageist and generalise I'll add my 20c worth. In your mid-twenties you are neither more or less sharp than in your mid-sixties or even seventies. Much has to do with genetic, developmental, cultural and particularly lifestyle factors. A twenty-something person who has lived in physical, social, or cultural deprivation is unlikely to be as sharp as a sixty-something person who has lived in relative affluence which would be marked by healthy nutrition, reasonable educational opportunities, contacts, stability, etc.
General knowledge is also culturally loaded.
Anyway, I won't rave on. The gist is that generalising about personal attributes like age, gender, etc, is a bit silly and not useful. They cannot be used as sole indicators of anything. We grow and develop out of a complex of factors and we need to implement real democracy, as you say, and also work towards a much fairer and just society than we have now.
I guess I lead a sheltered life. 😆
I also think that 16-year-olds could vote but it should not be obligatory until they turn 18.
I'm not so sure that weighted votes would be illegitimate (but I am not an expert). If young people's voice had more weight they could counter some of the awful decisions being made.
Hey, not all seniors think like bigots.
Babies and children can't vote for obvious reasons.
Then half of the Aussie population (or more) wouldn't be able to vote! You are being super-elitist! 😆
Agree.
Why would you need a maximum voting age? If someone has the maturity and clarity to vote, they should vote.
According to the article, there is already weighted voting in Australia, not by age but by place. If the weight-loading was legislated I can't see govts changing the weighting easily.
And yet this:
https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/260724-the-number-one-health-issue-in-palestine-is-the-israeli-occupation
I guess the author of the above opinion piece, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, International President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) who worked as an emergency doctor in Gaza in 2024, would not be able to express it if he were based in Australia, without the threat of losing his right to practice.
They've gone after the medicos. Which other professional field is next? This is intolerable.
This sounds really interesting. Do you know if there is anywhere else I could read the article? I am not on any other social media other than this one.
My impression is that it is not only economic. Other factors play a role, e.g. technology interfering with natural relationships and self-image, perceived climate change effects on their future, the effects of non-nutritious foods on the body (and therefore mind) to name some.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-29/new-zealand-spy-paul-williams-bret-mckenzie/106949316
Still, because the horses, mice and allsorts are now out of the bag, perhaps there will be more investigation and pressure to find out who's done what. On the other hoof, it's such an enormous industry it wields a lot of power over govts, like other mega industries.
To ger more of an idea, this is Caitlin Johnstone's review:
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/07/28/earths-greatest-enemy-delivers-a-penetrating-insight-into-the-heart-of-our-dystopia/
Living as I do in a region that is LNP & PHON heartland you hear all manner of arguments against renewable energy projects. For all their 'patriotism', these parties seem to not really care about what we are facing as a nation or as a continent.
If you too come across people of that mind set, this little blog piece can give you some great talking points.
The 4Corners investigation is really worth seeing. We take so much for granted about food in Oz but there is a lot of fraud taking place which can have serous consequences. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-27/duped-food-exposed-part-1/106963452
Thank you and excellent work Abigail Boyd!
Apart from the lying and profiteering, there's the issue of animal welfare and people's health. Horses are slaughtered in knackeries, not in abattoirs (which supposedly only slaughter animals for human consumption). Knackeries must comply with their state or territory animal welfare legislation but every state differs, so if there is horse meat in your mince you do not know under what conditions in was slaughtered. If you want to know a little more: https://www.farmtransparency.org/kb/food/knackeries
I wish them every success.
The siblings claims may or may not be genuine but I'd be chuffed if many more young overseas-located Israelis refused to go back to Israel and became vocal against the regime.