The 2009 Budget in clichés. The ghost of Keating past. How green is my Budget? The good, the bad and the ugly.

Dr Bill de Maria discusses the new whistleblowing proposals; David Ingles laments the exclusion of people on NewStart from either of the stimulus packages and explains the great superannuation tax concession rort; Reconciliation Australia looks at reconciliation a year after the Rudd apology; Tully Fletcher examines the current state of legal aid; Richard Denniss enumerates

Paid parental leave. Increasing GDP. The measurement of unemployment.

Senator Fielding and the alcopops debacle. The wisdom of tax cuts. Freedom of information becomes freer?

A Human Rights Act for Australia. Executive excess. Policy on the run; is policy underdone? Food security

Does the market have all the answers? Index of wellbeing. K Rudd bank. Newstart and the fiscal stimulus package.

Burying bad news in the media. The impact of climate change on new businesses. Cooperatives. The Government’s new human rights consultation.

Hugh Saddler and Helen King examine the difficulties implicit in applying emissions trading to agriculture; Josh Fear reclaims your time from the telemarketers and examines the superannuation industry in Australia; David Richardson explains how accelerated depreciation would help the renewable energy industry; Richard Denniss looks at a new top tax rate; John Langmore asks whether

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

Ministerial responsibility. A major flaw in the ETS. Thinking long term.

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.

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?

Richard Denniss explains how an emissions trading scheme works; Josh Fear looks at financial choices; Gemma Edgar explores the possibility of a national compact between the government and NGOs and David Richardson writes about the problems of hidden unemployment.

Incoming Executive Director Richard Denniss shares his strategic vision for the Institute.

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

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.

Australia After Howard What sort of government will Rudd Labor be? Clive Hamilton situates last month’s dramatic defeat of John Howard within broader historical trends.

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

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

Sex and Children: A volatile mix by Emma Rush Playing politics with national security by Andrew Wilkie Religion and global warming by Kate Mannix Howard’s morality play by Andrew Macintosh Howard’s politics of the past by Clive Hamilton The changing climate of business by Molly Harriss Olson Dramatic changes to Land Rights law by Sean

Who listens to Alan Jones by Clive Hamilton Indonesia’s nuclear plans Are fossil fuel companies ‘capturing’ our universities? by Christian Downie School vouchers: update by Andrew Macintosh History wars and heritage omissions by Deb Wilkinson Rich boomer, poor boomer by Myra Hamilton Tourism subsidies are money down the drain by Christian Downie The use and

Quality of child care by Emma Rush New media – just more of the same by Christian Downie The nuclear debate warms up by Andrew Macintosh Losing faith in the official future by Richard Eckersley School Vouchers by Andrew Macintosh Dealing with America by John Langmore Equality of opportunity by Fred Argy A new approach

Drug Law Reform by Andrew Macintosh Skip Dipping by Emma Rush The Dirty Politics of Climate Change by Clive Hamilton Gagging the CSIRO by Roslyn Beeby Bugging Legislation by Cameron Murphy

Who Drives 4WDs? by Clive Hamilton The Nationals’ Telstra Deal by Deb Wilkinson New Climate Institute Can We Withdraw From Iraq? by Barry Naughten Beyond Right and Left by David McKnight A Sick Economy? by Clive Hamilton The Senate: Now and Then by Emma Rush Corporate Control of Child Care by Emma Rush Fear and

Activists: How to beat them at their own game by Katherine Wilson Mapping Homophobia in Australia by Michael Flood and Clive Hamilton Poverty in Australia: Vinnies versus the CIS by Clive Hamilton The EPBC Act: A five-year assessment by Andrew Macintosh and Deb Wilkinson Managing the Economy: A Political Scorecard by Prof. Raja Junankar Will

Stuck in Traffic by Claire Barbato Government stymies advocacy by green NGOs by Clive Hamilton Wellbeing Manifesto launch Howard’s Children by Richard Denniss The ‘Left” and the Iraq War by Clive Hamilton Taxpayers Soaked by Andrew Macintosh Is the Bracks Government Serious about Climate Change? ZPG for ACT? by Claire Barbato Gross National Happiness by

Waste not want not by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss Who is lonely in Australia? by Michael Flood Traffic fine by Clive Hamilton New Book from the Institute Relational thinking by Michael Schluter Climate Taskforce Report Released by Justin Sherrard Private health insurance by Richard Denniss