This paper explains why the current patchwork of media and advertising regulation is failing to prevent the premature sexualisation of Australian children. A number of improvements are proposed based on a review of current regulatory arrangements for the areas most responsible for the sexualisation of children: girls’ magazines, television and outdoor advertising, and television programs.

Australia’s security agencies have become increasingly politicised under the Howard Government. Whistleblower and former intelligence official Andrew Wilkie has put forward a four-point plan to ensure the independence of Australian security agencies.

In recent times, concerns have been raised about the growing number of wind farms and their impacts on communities and the environment. Many of these concerns have been fuelled by well-organised anti-wind groups attempting to persuade many people, including several prominent politicians, that wind energy does not have a legitimate role to play in addressing

This article critics the cold war mentality of John Howard’s speech at the 50th anniversary of the Quadrant. Howard attacked environmentalists, unions, public schools, teachers and indigenous rights activists. The ability to tap into anti-left fear is due to the perceived moral decay of society that the conservatives have dominated. This article recommends a closer connection

This report gives the first comprehensive overview of the ways in which Australian children are being sexualised by advertising and marketing from a very young age. It also describes in detail the risks children face as a result of this corporate paedophilia.

This new paper reports the results of an extensive study of the attitudes of baby boomers to retirement and shifting perceptions to the pension and self-funding.

There has been a growing push for the Federal Government to introduce a universal school voucher scheme that results in government funding being provided on a per student basis to parents, which they could then use at a public or private school of their choice. This paper evaluates the available evidence on school voucher schemes

This piece focuses on domestic tourism assistance and event attraction within the tourism industry of states and territories. While the taxpayer spends over $245m annually on assistances to the tourism industry there is very little return. The only reasons that states and territories engage in the industry is because it is perceived as a zero

There is a belief that Alan Jones can make or break elections. However on any given day Jones has 187,000 listeners, compared to 552,000 viewers of Nine National News, and nearly 1 million buyers of the Sydney newspapers. Those who do listen are disproportionately older, believe that the Coalition is doing a good job, and

Concerns have been raised about the quality of care provided by corporate chain child care centres (see Australia Institute Discussion Paper 84). ABC Learning Centres is the largest corporate child care chain in Australia, providing more than 20 per cent of all long day care places. This paper reports the results of interviews carried out

This paper outlines a radical new proposal to pay rebates to export industries adversely affected by greenhouse gas emission taxes thereby preserving the international competitiveness of energy-intensive exporters whilst maintaining the carbon price signal with the domestic economy. Implementation of the proposal would thus effectively remove the main argument used against the ratification of the

While there is a claim that new media is making Australia more pluralistic, there is little evidence to support this. 95% of people get there information on domestic news and current affairs from traditional media, compared to 3% from the internet. The most popular internet news sites are owned by the major traditional media outlets.

Recent public debate about the child care system in Australia has focused primarily on the availability and affordability of child care. This paper considers an aspect of child care that has received much less attention, that of the quality of the care provided. Results from a national survey of long day care centre staff suggest

Public policy debate about equality of opportunity in Australia currently centres around the distribution of disposable incomes and the role played by taxes and transfers. In contrast, this paper presents the available evidence on underlying structural inequalities of education, health, employment, housing and location. Based on international evidence, the paper argues that governments which address

Prohibition has failed to significantly reduce illicit drug markets and has caused greater harm to society than it has saved. The evidence shows that a treatment-orientated approach to drug issues would be far more effective in reducing drug-related harm.

Over half of all Australians will not use, or give away Christmas presents. 21% of Australians will give a present to someone they don’t like. Because of this the piece recommends that the important social act of present giving should be replaced with giving to charity, as 73% of Australians would prefer a charitable contribution.

The experience of the Democrats’ GST/MBE deal suggests that the Nationals’ Telstra agreement is likely to fail to protect the interests of rural and regional Australians and disappoint those in the National Party who believe it could protect them from an electoral backlash.

This piece raises questions around the handling of the funding for the Don Bradman Heritage Trail and the Australian Cricket Captains’ Walk projects. Firstly despite no application for funding being lodged by either of these projects both received funding. There has been no reason supplied as to why the Minister of the Environment has changed

While many Australians are prosperous, few feel prosperous. Only 1 in 5 millionaires consider themselves prosperous¸ and only 1.6 of the entire Australian population. This piece claims that the pressure on growth of net worth and income forces people to perceive themselves as not prosperous.

This piece aims to map out the socio-economic, age, regional and gendered opinions on homosexuality. This piece found that 35% of Australians are homosexual, mostly older, rural, lower socio-economic males.

An analysis of the environmental assessment and approval (EAA) process under the five-year old EPBC Act and whether it is fulfilling its environmental objectives. Chris McGrath Letter in response to discussion paper 81: Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act: A Five Year Assessment A Macintosh and D Wilkinson Reply to the letter from Chris McGrath

A new analysis of the economic performance of the Hawke-Keating Labor Government and the Howard Government concludes that, in a reversal of what would be expected, Labor did better at controlling inflation and the real rate of interest, while the Coalition did better at reducing unemployment and cutting the current account deficit.