Message from the Director

Welcome to the first issue of It's Time for 2009.

After a brief break, the New Year seems to have come rushing at us and it promises to be an exciting one here at the Whitlam Institute.

2009 will see the Institute embarking on a quite full program of policy work. Over the next few months we will be releasing the final report from our work with young people to Imagine a New Democracy and a paper proposing the foundation principles and standards that should apply in the contractual relationships between Governments and Non Government Organisations.

We're also embarking on a series of policy think pieces. The first of these will hit the stands soon and should be something special. But you’ll have to wait a little longer to find out more on that front.

We're also co-hosting with Riverside Theatres the Behind the Lines Exhibition. This exhibition reviews 2008 through a selection of 80 of the best political cartoons of the year. You'll find out more later in this issue but if you’re in Sydney with a love of cartoons, an interest in politics or simply enjoy a good laugh then don’t miss it.

On February 9 we launched the What Matters? 2009 essay writing competition for school students in NSW and the ACT. The 2009 competition promises to be our biggest yet. Thanks to support from Officeworks we're expanding the competition and this year sees the introduction of special prizes for five participating schools.

Our successful public information series on Energy Security last year is rolling on with a DVD ROM of the presentations soon to be released. It is a powerful educational resource. We're also mounting further series this year. The first of these will be somewhat topical. Getting to Grips with the Economy is a three-part series of forums kicking off late May.

We also have several quite special events on the drawing board…but we'll hold the news on these till the details are locked in. But one around 11 July will I'm sure be an occasion not-to-be-missed so have your diaries ready.

Your interest and support throughout 2008 has made a great difference to our work so please do stay in touch.

Feel free to drop us a line or give us a call and don't forget to keep an eye on our website for the latest news, reports, project updates and activities: www.whitlam.org.

Best wishes,