Debates about superannuation policy are often ideological in tone.People in finance and investment circles tend to forget that the majority of Australians are profoundly disengaged from their super, at least until they approach retirement. The super system is so complicated that many workers take the simplest option – doing nothing. Governments therefore have a responsibility

Telemarketing is one form of ‘direct marketing’, along with junk mail, spam and face-to-face marketing. Direct marketing differs from ‘traditional’ advertising in making a much stronger claim on our attention. Members of the public have to take deliberate action if they wish to avoid direct marketing, but Institute research indicates that an ‘opt-in’ system would

An economical truth. The bogus economic case for telemarketing. Bee lines. Over a barrel.

Government assistance to industry. New anti-SLAPP legislation in the ACT. ACMA’s recent decision on subliminal advertising. The need for wellbeing in a climate-changed Australia.

Why we care more about the financial crisis than climate change. The 50 per cent discount on capital gains. Whether there has been an exodus from public schools to private ones.

Originally printed in the Sydney Morning Herald. Under the Productivity Commission’s parental leave proposal, men are entitled to two weeks’ paternity leave (use it or lose it), and mothers would be allowed to transfer their 18-week entitlement to their partners. It leaves the important decision about who provides primary care up to individual families and,

Why we measure stock market performance daily, but don’t measure what really counts. The record profits of Australia’s big banks despite the ‘crisis’. The real reasons behind Australia’s doctor shortage. The Government’s review of Australia’s tax system: are we paying enough?

Non-government organisations contribute to the Australian community in a myriad of ways, creating a rich, supportive and inclusive community. They help produce an active and vibrant democracy and they provide representation to marginalised members of the community. NGOs can also inform public debate, rendering it more substantive and less likely to be captured by business

A character test is traditionally applied to decide whether a person should be granted some kind of privilege – for example, a visa, citizenship, or an important job. When trying to judge character, the evidence examined usually includes a person’s past statements, activities and conduct, including any police record, criminal charges or jail terms. The

Raise the question of who should look after the kids, and you enter a minefield of gender roles, household distribution of labour, and parenting styles, with any wrong step potentially fatal. Arguments such as women have a biological affinity with raising children or that they’re better at it are sure to come up. Alternatively, workplaces

Originally printed in ABC News. It’s a good thing for our communities if working parents are able to take time out to spend with children. This should be the guiding principle for the Productivity Commission’s upcoming inquiry into paid maternity, paternity and parental leave. The second principle is to accept that many parents want or

I propose three ideas for the upcoming 2020 Summit this weekend. Firstly, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is asking for participants to take the long view of Australia’s future, which is always the hard thing for leaders trapped in the electoral cycle to do. Secondly, Rudd is asking Australia to accept that just gathering 1000 volunteers

International Women’s Day is on Saturday. In the spirit of national change, I nominate three wishes for progress in gender equality that the Rudd Government could deliver immediately, and which might also yield longer term benefits for all Australian women. First, move the Office for Women back into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Clive Hamilton left the Australia Institute at the end of February to devote himself to writing. Here he pens his last comment for the newsletter.

From the moment it became plain that Labor would win the election, The Australian began to argue that a Rudd victory is in fact a victory for Howard. He has so much in common with Howard that, despite appearances, the victory of Rudd is another defeat for the left. Humbled by the new spirit of

Nearly 20 years ago I went through a process that is sometimes referred to as “the dark night of the soul”. It is a phase of spiritual life that many people experience. The phenomenon is well known in the Catholic Church in all traditions. Openness is a virtue in public life. What an impoverished world

Over recent months, Minister Kevin Andrews has been bringing the new Australian Citizenship Test to fruition. This is a policy destined to fail utterly in its stated intention – “to help new citizens to embrace education, employment and other opportunities in Australia”, according to the Government – but succeed in sending a message to voters

Today’s little girls aren’t tottering around in mum’s high heels. These days, nothing could be more daggy for a primary school girl than pretending to be her mum, or any other normal adult. So – at the risk of sounding repetitive – everyone please take note: premature sexualisation has nothing to do with children’s creative

While we stigmatise fat people, perhaps they are behaving normally in a sick social environment. The answer then is not diets, drugs and surgery but a wholesale change in the culture of consumption, which itself is a reaction to the emptiness of affluence.

Ever wondered how the PR industry operates, its tactics and links to government and business? A new book, Inside Spin published by Allen & Unwin, reveals how spin doctors invisibly influence just about every news story we read. Author Bob Burton provides an inside look.

Turbulence ahead by Andrew Macintosh and Christian Downie Universities and fossil fuel capture by Christian Downie Silencing dissent: The Federal Government strikes by James Arvanitakis Grassroots campaign against sexualisation of children by Julie Gale See Paris and Die? by Steve Biddulph Academic economists call for Kyoto ratification by Clive Hamilton Insuring against catastrophic change by

Bashing baby boomers is becoming so passe. The Howard Government’s Intergenerational Report found that the ageing of the population does not constitute a crisis but rather a fairly manageable transition. Despite this, a number of commentators continue to insist that the age pension claims of a large cohort of boomers will put unsustainable pressure on

As parents and professionals who work with children point out, the time and energy that they currently spend in trying to protect children from the advertising and media onslaught (as well as in healing the damage it causes) would be far better spent on the positive aspects of caring for children. In short, if government

Who wants a nuclear power plant by Andrew Macintosh Burning up the landscape by Christian Downie Defending dissent by Sarah Maddison Mobile phones and consumer kids by Christian Downie What’s wrong with a SLAPP? by Brian Walters Muffins beat Affluenza The National Greenhouse Accounts and land clearing by Andrew Macintosh Woodchips or water? Legal protection

Drugs policy arouses strong emotions. People see drug users and fear the unknown. The traditional response from politicians, particularly conservatives, has been to exploit these fears for political gain. The outcome has been an over-reliance on law enforcement as a means of stamping out both the supply and use of harmful drugs. It is hoped

Rather than being empowered, children are being exploited by the process of sexualisation. For children seeking to become empowered in an adult world, a more promising route is to focus on developing cognitive and emotional capacities that enable them to negotiate power relations more maturely and with less risk to themselves. There is nothing wrong

Like individual citizens, community groups are being worn down and are increasingly reluctant to engage in the democratic process because they no longer believe that they can make a difference. At the same time, certain influential business lobbies have been brought into the fold, along with a few tame or uncritical NGOs such as Mission

The outcome for the broader Australian polity is that the knowledge and breadth of experience collected together in the NGO community is having much less influence on how we develop as a society than it should. Like individual citizens, community groups are being increasingly reluctant to engage in the democratic process because they no longer

Plans revealed this week to squeeze a further 1.1 million people into Sydney over the next 25 years will transform it into the nation’s least liveable city. Twenty years ago Sydney was less congested, slower, more friendly and had more green space. Unregulated population growth and timid planning are choking the city, a situation exacerbated

Since the early 1900s, Australias drug policies have been based on the notion that the law should be the primary mechanism for addressing drug problems. By prohibiting both the supply and use of certain undesirable drugs, governments thought they could stamp out drug use and drug-related activities. But drug markets have proved remarkably resistant to