It's hard sometimes to tell a boy from a man, especially when the boy is 58 years old. We need to observe closely how he behaves, listen to what he says, attempt to read his state of mind, before we reach any firm conclusions.

Boy or man? It's an important question, given how destructive youthful macho behaviour can be. We see it everywhere. Fighting, bullying, reckless driving, binge drinking, treating sex as a conquest – all of these high-risk behaviours passing for manliness, creating mayhem along the way.

Boy or man: Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

That's why, since the dawn of time, various cultures have had their rites of passage, not just around birth, death, marriage and puberty, but around boys becoming psychologically sound and functioning men.

A strong community depends on it, depends for its very survival on turning boys into competent and responsible young men. But manhood doesn't just happen. It requires a concerted effort on the part of wise elders – normally through ceremonies and rituals – to point the way towards healthy male psychology. Otherwise a man might end up as a boy trapped in a man's body, lording it over his family, his company, his nation.