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Don't forget Gary Johns' booklaunch tomorrow eveningDear , Before I list our achievements in August, I just wanted to remind you that Gary Johns is launching his new book, Your Body Belongs to the Nation, which takes on the Nanny State and the public health lobby, tomorrow evening at the Alliance Hotel. Entry is a very reasonable $10 for members and includes the first drink. To book, please click here. Last Friday, Tony Morris QC, and AIP member Calum Thwaites, gave us an inside view of Section 18C and the QUT Three. In his speech, Tony Morris asked rhetorically who was going to do something about getting politics back onto good principles and good policy. The answer to that is, of course, people like you and me. That's the point of being involved with, or supporting, a think tank. We're not politicians (although we understand politics) and we don't have to get elected. Not only can we therefore speak truth to power, but we can help to widen the boundaries within which legitimate public debate occurs without fear of the consequences on our careers and livelihoods. Too often people with our political views leave it to the other side to define where those boundaries are. That's one reason we see politicians who we think support our values introducing policies very like those of their opponents - they've become convinced there is no electoral support for anything else. There are a number of ways you can contribute. We'll be doing a membership drive soon, but if you haven't joined or are an unfinancial member, please feel free to beat us to the jump. To join, click here, and to renew click here, log in and select "upgrade". We will also be fundraising to attract sponsorship and large donations so we can make a mark this election. If you know someone who might like to join, or donate, please either refer them to me, or send them to our website. You can also get involved in the intellectual debate. We regularly post articles to our site at www.aip.asn.au/news and the AIP also publishes On Line Opinion. This electronic journal was established in 1999 by me, and is the only online journal I am aware of open to all points of view. It is genuinely "fair and balanced". If you truly believe in free speech, then it applies to everyone, even your ideological and intellectual opponents. We have discussion threads on the articles, and it's one way to learn more about the arguments, particularly those you don't agree with, and to also test out your own analytical and persuasive skills. I'm always looking for writers, so if you want to submit an article, please email editor@onlineopinion.com.au. On Line Opinion also sends out three separate newsletters each day. One contains articles published on the journal, a second discussion threads opened by readers, and the third, some of the best blog posts we are aware of for the preceding period. They're a good way to start the day, zone out of the static of short-term political arguments, and do some longer-term thinking. To subscribe to any of them, click here and establish a profile on the site. We also have a twitter feed @OzInstProgress and Facebook page. If you are on Twitter, please follow us, and if you are on Facebook, like our page, and if possible, write a review. August was the month when we started to develop our first big idea - a new power station for Queensland. A thinkshop consisting of some AIP members, as well as outside experts, sat down to thrash out the issues. You will hopefully see the fruits of that in the newspapers soon, as well as in a new policy document which we will distribute. We need all sides of politics realistically addressing not just of how to stabilise electricity prices, but to drive them back down so they are competitive with countries like the USA, where power costs half what it does here. On our website:
You can also listen to me talking state politics each Monday morning at 9:30 on ABC Brisbane, live, or on the web anytime within a week of broadcast (start listening from the 60 minute mark). Gary Johns is also on 2UE at times. Regards
Graham Young 
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