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.

High income earners are using low-cost private health insurance products to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge according to a report released today by the Australia Institute. The Institute’s analysis uses unpublished ABS data to estimate that the practice is costing Australian taxpayers $230 million a year in lost revenue. The findings are made in Using

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

Despite the fanfare that surrounds major events, the reality is that state and territory governments are often spending large sums of taxpayer money in attempts to divert events, tourists, jobs and associated revenue from one part of Australia to another, and from one industry to another.

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

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

Over the last fifteen years, much effort has gone into the preparation of sustainability reports. These are reports that provide information on social and environmental as well as economic matters. This has been done in the name of improved decision making, accountability and transparency. It has also been motivated by a desire to promote ecologically

Our national myth is that of the stoical farmer battling the elements and never succumbing. But the $1 billion plus in drought relief granted over the last few years is an expensive means of sustaining an anachronism. Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind, and that means refusing to pretend that if we

The Government argues that encouraging people to work longer is also helping them do something for their own benefit. However, increasing the retirement age is asking people to contribute time at a life stage when time is scarce. For boomers, being compelled to work later means that individuals are giving up something – time –

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

Under a voucher scheme, government funding would be provided on a per student basis to the school of parents’ choice, whether public or private. The amount given to each student could be the same (flat-rate vouchers) or could vary (differentiated vouchers). Vouchers could also be confined to particular students (targeted vouchers). Jennifer Buckingham, from the

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

We drew out the broad elements of an active social strategy targeted at the major barriers to social mobility ”” children’s early development, public infrastructure deficiencies and inequalities of access to employment, health, education, training and housing. If it is to gain public acceptance, such a strategy would need to be preceded by a campaign