Pearlcast EP 1

Launching Pearlcasts

Episode 1 - The 50th Anniversary of the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government

We kick off with a topic close to our hearts, the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government. We have three of the best sources in the nation taking part: our editor-in-chief John Menadue – the living link to the scandal and the nation’s top public servant at the time; Jenny Hocking, author of The Palace Letters and Australia’s pre-eminent Dismissal historian; and Brian Toohey, the journalist who has dug deepest into the darkest elements of the events.

Listen to Pearlcast Episode 1
Ambush and deceit
John Menadue

THE DISMISSAL AT 50

Ambush and deceit

The first in a series of first-hand accounts of the Dismissal, from the man who was there: John Menadue.

A tribute to Ali Kazak
David Spratt

A tribute to Ali Kazak

I had the privilege, together with the late Frans Timmerman, of working with Ali a good deal from the mid-1970s till the mid-1990s in producing the newspaper/magazine Free Palestine, and as national secretary of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign for a decade.

AFP set to fight the devil among our children
Jack Waterford

AFP set to fight the devil among our children

The new AFP Commissioner, Krissy Barrett, would not be the first AFP Commissioner or statutory head to think that she can reinvent her job and its functions with the help of a savvy media unit.


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A United States that is disintegrating and no longer a leader in Asia
Thomas Pepinsky

A United States that is disintegrating and no longer a leader in Asia

The second Trump administration has transformed US foreign policy, with immediate implications for economic and security ties with Asia and long-term implications for regional and global order.

The West’s double game on Gaza
Scott Burchill

The West’s double game on Gaza

In the aftermath of the attacks of 7 October 2023 and for months afterwards, Western governments that have been long-standing supporters of Israel — including the Australian Government — invoked “self-defence” to justify the severity of Israel’s response.

The left wins the Irish presidential election in a landslide
Vijay Prashad

The left wins the Irish presidential election in a landslide

Catherine Connolly (born 1957) only became involved in active politics in 1999. Michael D. Higgins, the outgoing president of Ireland (2011-2025), encouraged Connolly to join the Labour Party and stand for election.

A dangerous trifecta
Noel Turnbull

A dangerous trifecta

Amid the world’s many troubles is the growing possibility of a combination of the bursting of a bubble, a major government and corporate debt crisis and the possibility that a popular investment strategy — lifecycle investing or borrowing to invest — will all implode at the same time.

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Jane O'Sullivan

When will immigration return to 'normal'?

Despite assurances from Immigration Minister Tony Burke that immigration is “trending back towards historically normal levels”, all indicators suggest it is once again overshooting Treasury’s projection. Indeed, it looks like the descent may have stalled and might rebound.

Australia can't get away with genocide
Alison Broinowski

Australia can't get away with genocide

Australia repeatedly fights as the deputy sheriff in our ally’s wars. Afterwards, our contributions are forgotten and we continue to dodge blame for the disastrous results, including war crimes. Can we get away with this over Gaza?

Death by plastic
Julian Cribb

Death by plastic

“Mummy...Daddy, what are clouds made of?” Almost every parent has fielded the innocent, eager question, perhaps explaining about mist, fog, water vapour, raindrops. Today, if you said that, you’d be wrong.

A worldwide anti-Israel movement
Patrick Lawrence

A worldwide anti-Israel movement

Catherine Connolly’s rise to the Irish presidency marks a progression in global politics we ought not to miss. A critical mass is gathering against the Zionist state.

Latest on Palestine and Israel

The West’s double game on Gaza
Scott Burchill

The West’s double game on Gaza

In the aftermath of the attacks of 7 October 2023 and for months afterwards, Western governments that have been long-standing supporters of Israel — including the Australian Government — invoked “self-defence” to justify the severity of Israel’s response.

Australia can't get away with genocide
Alison Broinowski

Australia can't get away with genocide

Australia repeatedly fights as the deputy sheriff in our ally’s wars. Afterwards, our contributions are forgotten and we continue to dodge blame for the disastrous results, including war crimes. Can we get away with this over Gaza?

Israel’s repeated ceasefire violations are part of its strategy to keep waging war on Gaza
Tareq S. Hajjaj

Israel’s repeated ceasefire violations are part of its strategy to keep waging war on Gaza

Here’s Israel's strategy to continue the war on Gaza: find a pretext, no matter how baseless, use it to kill dozens of civilians and fighters, stop fire and claim you’re honouring the ceasefire. Then do it again.

Notice which genocides you are and are not allowed to oppose
Caitlin Johnstone

Notice which genocides you are and are not allowed to oppose

Do you notice how nobody’s losing their jobs or getting deported for criticising the genocidal atrocities in Sudan?

What Israel's genocide has laid bare
Coen Luettringhaus

What Israel's genocide has laid bare

Two years into an ongoing genocide — recognised as such by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights, Doctors without Borders, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, the University Network for Human Rights and countless scholars of international humanitarian law, genocide and Holocaust studies — we are now to normalise the obscene, and move on.

Australian Palestinian farm in the occupied West Bank raided by Israeli settlers
Helen McCue

Australian Palestinian farm in the occupied West Bank raided by Israeli settlers

Australian citizen, Palestinian farmer and vigneron Sari Kassis, whose family company Domaine Kassis wines sells both locally and overseas, has reported that over the past two weeks there has been a rapid increase in destructive raids on his farm by the Israeli “Hilltop Youth”.

Gaza under siege: The continuation of Zionist demographic cleansing policies since the 19th century
Refaat Ibrahim

Gaza under siege: The continuation of Zionist demographic cleansing policies since the 19th century

Israeli propaganda tries to present the war on Gaza as a “defensive reaction.” Yet the historical record tells a very different story: systematic genocide, the destruction of civilian life and deliberate attempts to uproot entire populations. All of this is a direct continuation of Zionist colonial policies that began in the late 19th century.

The leader most capable of governing a future Palestinian state is languishing in an Israeli jail
Amin Saikal

The leader most capable of governing a future Palestinian state is languishing in an Israeli jail

As the future of Gaza hangs in the balance, the Palestinian Authority needs renewal if it’s to eventually govern the Strip and play a key role in making the two-state solution a reality.


John Menadue's book on Israel's war against Gaza

Israel's war against Gaza

Media coverage of the war in Gaza since October 2023 has spread a series of lies propagated by Israel and the United States. This publication presents information, analysis, clarification, views and perspectives largely unavailable in mainstream media in Australia and elsewhere.

Download the PDF

Latest on China

Understanding Australia-China research mobility
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Understanding Australia-China research mobility

Australia’s research partnership with China is a significant component of its scientific output, particularly in engineering, technology and applied sciences.

The ABC and News Corp finally agree on something: China panic
Fred Zhang

Anti-China Media Watch

The ABC and News Corp finally agree on something: China panic

Last week, a friend asked if I was worried about Chinese “nuclear threats.

Taiwan as an integral part of China: A historical, legal and geopolitical analysis
James Wood

Taiwan as an integral part of China: A historical, legal and geopolitical analysis

The status of Taiwan remains one of the most contested topics in modern geopolitics and one of the most misrepresented.


John Menadue

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Latest letters to the editor

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If only the Sudanese were being attacked by Jews they might have some Australians protesting. More than 150,000 Sudanese have been killed and more than 14 million displaced in the second Sudan War. The situation in el-Fasher is dire. The UN is pleading for support to help 30 million in desperate need in what the world body says the world’s largest hunger crisis. This doesn't deflect from the atrocities in Gaza and leaders from Ireland taking a stance, but it highlights how the public and the media select which issues to care about, and it's not massacres and starvation...
Tax reform for a fairer society

Chris Young — Surrey Hills, Vic

Remember, ladies and gentlemen, I recall English comedian Max Miller saying, it makes no difference whether you’re rich or whether you’re poor – it’s nice to be rich. He could have been speaking of the Australian taxation system today. Income-earners carry the bulk of the taxation load. Those owning capital get taxation relief with negative gearing for investment homes and a 50% discount on capital gains. The system is skewed in their favour. This is fundamentally inequitable. Income tax will be a fundamental part of any taxation system, but the tax burden can be spread more widely to...
This story is still being written and covered up

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For as long as I can remember, the story of lead levels at the Port Pirie smelters and the danger to children/residents in the area has been repeated over and over again with constant threats of closure and government handouts for cleaning up. They continued as recently as late last year and early this year. Then it seems that lead smelting and rare earth mineral processing go hand in hand and off trots our prime minister to TRUMPtopia to join the have-I-got-a-deal-for-you queue. The state premier was left behind to blow the TRUMPet. No mention of the health...
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Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

Stella Yee says what others think but never have the courage to say. We are still, and always have been, a racist nation. That derives from imperial and aristocratic Britain which has for centuries sought to separate itself from the rest of humanity. That was after all the basis of the British Empire. Those around the planet who had the misfortune to be colonised were regarded as lesser beings. That view justified what was done to those others as they were of lesser value. It takes an emerging reality a hundred years of evidence to the contrary to...



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