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For cartoonists, 2008 began with the spectacle of the Australia 2020 Summit and the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Other headlines included Rudd's education revolution, the Henson photography controversy and the Haneef inquiry.

On the political stage, the demise of the Australian Democrats and the troubles of the New South Wales Labor Party attracted attention. As the year continued, World Youth Day and the Beijing Olympics provided good source material for artists' pens.

Political cartoon of a four-frame strip cartoon. The image in the first frame has the heads of a variety of animals and a Kevin Rudd balloon. A sign on the wall behind them says '2020 Summit registration' with an arrow. The next frame shows the Kevin Rudd balloon at a podium facing the animal audience sitting on chairs. The text 'Ha, Ha, Ha' floats above their heads. Behind Kevin Rudd is a whiteboard that says '2020 Summit'. In the third frame the animals are standing with the Kevin Rudd balloon and a very small image of Peter Garrett. Above them all a balloon with musical notes and the text 'From little things big things grow...' The last frame shows the animals hugging or shaking hands. Each frame has a text narrative. Frame 1: 'It was pretty exciting, everyone was there and the media and Cate and everything. We all felt really cool and important but tried not to show it.' Frame 2: Kevin is a riot! We all laughed and laughed and Cate spoke really well. She is really beautiful and really smart, who'd have thought it! I don't mean that in a mean way but you know...' Frame 3: 'After a name game and some trust exercises it was talking, talking and more talking! There were ideas coming from everywhere! At dinner on Saturday night the people from the governance group did some hilarious skits and Bob Carr led us all in a singalong.' Frame 4: 'When it was finally over, we'd all made some new friends and learnt a lot about each other. There were tears and hugs, and we all agreed to say in touch and to do it again soon. We probably won't but I hope we do.'. - click to view larger image
'What we did at the 2020 summit' by First Dog on the Moon
Political cartoon of a stark greyish landscape with range after range of hills in the background. Kevin Rudd in military camouflage fatigues is digging into rocky soil with a shovel. Next to him is a row of three gravestones. The one closest to Rudd says 'The Russians 1989' and beneath that is the hammer and sickle symbol. The next gravestone says 'The British 1919' and the third says 'The Mughals 1709'. - click to view larger image
'Digging in' by David Pope
Political cartoon of a school yard scene with Kevin Rudd in short pants dangling between the rungs of the jungle gym. The rung he's hanging onto is labelled 'Education'. He reaches for but his arm is too short to reach the rung labelled 'Revolution'. Julia Gillard stands with one leg up, starting to climb up after him. - click to view larger image
'Education revolution' by Matt Golding
Political cartoon of three images hanging on the wall as if in an art gallery depicting the Sesame Street characters Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog and Big Bird. An older man and woman peer at them. The man says, 'They're right. Henson's work should be banned, but I'm glad we came to see it.' - click to view larger image
'Henson banned' by Peter Nicholson
Political cartoon featuring two men out in a dry field. A very large Mick Keelty sits with his feet up on the table, throwing a paper air plane. Behind him a wastepaper bin has a paper sticking out that says 'Federal Police Haneef Debacle'. On the other side of the table, facing Keelty, Clarke sits, holding some papers and a pen. A little pennant shaped sign beside him says 'In session'. In front of that, another sign says, 'Clarke inquiry into the case of Dr Mohammed Haneef'. In the centre of the frame, back from the table and framed by Keelty's legs, a head pops up from a hole in the ground, probably Kevin Andrews. On the table sits a smaller head with little arms and legs. - click to view larger image
'Clarke Inquiry in the case of Dr Mohammed Haneef' by Ward O'Neill
Political cartoon of a mushroom house in a wooded background. It has a red-spotted red top, a door and two windows. A sign in front of the mushroom house says 'Australian Democrats'. A green rubbish bin next to the house is stuffed full, the lid up, and a sign pokes out saying 'Keeping the bastards honest'. An unseen person inside the mushroom house says: 'Maybe we should have promised something easier to deliver, like lower fuel prices or reversing global warming...'. - click to view larger image
'Democrat mushroom' by Paul Zanetti
Political cartoon of a long black, convertible limousine with the roof down fills the frame of the cartoon. The licence plate on the front of the car says 'NSW ALP'. The car carries seven men, six dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. Kevin Rudd, is jammed into the middle and dressed in a blue suit with a pink tie. Above the car floats the text 'with friends like these ...'. - click to view larger image
'With friends like these ...' by Alan Moir
Political cartoon of a night time scene with a Victorian-style house in the background and the moon seen through the branches of a leafless tree. In the foreground of the cartoon, standing in front of a spiked metal fence, are two short, fat, hulking people. The woman is blond, dressed in green soccer clothes, and has a lizard tail trailing behind her. Above their heads float the words '... They're creepy and they're kooky. Ridiculous and loopy. They're altogether ooky. The Della family ...' Musical notes float next to the text. - click to view larger image
'The Della family' by Warren Brown
Political cartoon of a pope mobile, driving along a Sydney city street with the roof sails of the Opera House in the background, fills the centre of this cartoon. The Pope stands in the back of the vehicle holding a shepherd's crook. His Holiness says 'Blessed are the taxpayers for they shall inherit the bill ...'. - click to view larger image
'Blessed are the taxpayers' by Jon Kudelka
Political cartoon of a a man depicted behind the steering wheel of a car, his hands gripping the wheel, a fastened seat belt running diagonally across his body. In the back seat the head of a small boy peeps over the back of the front seat. In a cutout frame in the upper left-hand corner of the cartoon, the boy says 'Dad... why did they build the great firewall of China?' His father says, 'That. .. that was during the time of the Olympics...to keep out the journalists... too many journalists...in China'. - click to view larger image
'The great firewall of China' by John Farmer
Political cartoon of a two elderly people sitting at a table covered in a tablecloth upon which sit cups and a teapot. The man is holding a newspaper that says 'Coalition plan $30 pension increase'. His head is turned to the woman. He says 'Just think of all those extra baked beans!' She says 'And jam! Don't forget the jam!'. - click to view larger image
'Don't forget the jam!' by Reg Lynch

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