Pearlcasts
As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.
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15 April 2026
Private health insurance is a painfully bad deal – and a costly one
Australia’s private health insurance system is heavily subsidised, increasingly unaffordable and delivers poor value – especially for those on lower incomes.
15 April 2026
‘A very dark picture’: IMF warns Trump’s Iran war could unleash global recession
The war on Iran is disrupting energy supplies, fuelling inflation and raising the risk of a global downturn, with the poorest countries set to suffer most.
15 April 2026
Logging and thinning are putting Alpine Ash forests at risk
Australia’s Alpine Ash forests are endangered and highly vulnerable to fire. Logging, thinning and burning are increasing that risk – not reducing it.
15 April 2026
The UAE’s shadow network of power and war
Behind multiple conflicts across the Middle East and Africa sits a powerful but often overlooked actor – the UAE’s network of finance, logistics and proxy forces shaping outcomes on the ground.
15 April 2026
Indonesia's rice bowl gets bigger
Indonesia’s claims of rice self-sufficiency clash with import deals, opaque data and the growing political control of the food system.
15 April 2026
Stagflation risk puts tax reform back on the table
This budget will be especially challenging. Given the risks of stagflation, fiscal policy needs to be tightened. But in a cost-of-living crisis the main burden should fall on those who are relatively well off and that requires tax reform.
15 April 2026
Voters no longer want managers – they want fighters
Across Western democracies, voters are abandoning consensus politics in favour of leaders willing to fight, name enemies and prosecute a cause – a shift now reshaping both left and right.
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15 April 2026
Climate change, the community and the Coalition: going slower
The Coalition’s abandonment of net zero by 2050 marks a retreat from climate action, putting it at odds with public opinion and weakening Australia’s long-term response.
15 April 2026
No one likes the Job-ready Graduate scheme – so why does it still exist?
The architect of the HECS scheme Bruce Chapman, says economists agree, the Job-ready Graduate scheme is bad economics.
15 April 2026
China doubles down on state-led tech – and delays reform
China’s latest Five-Year Plan doubles down on state-led investment in high-tech sectors, strengthening national power while sidelining structural reform and consumption-led growth.
15 April 2026
By avoiding means testing, the government is giving handouts to the rich
Australia’s highly targeted tax and transfer system is being eroded by a shift toward universal benefits – redirecting support away from those who need it most.
14 April 2026
Iran debacle is Suez moment for US-Australia alliance
While there is already introspection both in the US and among its allies as to the long-term effects of this crisis on American capabilities and capacities, will Canberra seize the moment to reflect?
14 April 2026
Defund, don’t debate – the playbook for silencing dissent
The closure of the Grace Tame Foundation exposes a troubling pattern – dissent isn’t debated, it is defunded through pressure applied behind the scenes.
14 April 2026
Albo’s signature secrecy will ultimately bring him down
A court-ordered release of the Pezzullo report is a win for transparency – but it exposes a deeper culture of secrecy and institutional failure.
14 April 2026
Australia’s pre-emptive strike against Iranian asylum seekers
A new law allows Australia to block entire groups of visa holders from entering the country – a sharp break from past practice with major consequences for asylum policy.
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Latest on Palestine and Israel
15 April 2026
The UAE’s shadow network of power and war
Behind multiple conflicts across the Middle East and Africa sits a powerful but often overlooked actor – the UAE’s network of finance, logistics and proxy forces shaping outcomes on the ground.
13 April 2026
The world acts for oil – but not for human life
Global powers moved quickly to end a war that threatened energy supplies, while years of mass civilian suffering in Gaza has failed to prompt meaningful action.
11 April 2026
Identity, influence and division – Australia’s Jewish community in a time of tension
Amid rising tensions and a national inquiry into antisemitism, understanding the complexity of Australia’s Jewish community is essential to any serious conversation about social cohesion.
11 April 2026
Pope 1, Trump 0 – Message from the Editor
You think things can’t get any worse and then they do!
11 April 2026
Ending Israel’s war on peace
To make lasting peace in the Middle East, the US must end its blank cheque to Israel’s perpetual wars and join with the rest of the world to force Israel to live within its internationally recognised borders of 4 June, 1967.
10 April 2026
US disapproval of Israel hits an all-time high
Public support for Israel in the United States has dropped sharply, with younger voters driving a significant shift that could reshape future politics.
10 April 2026
Jewish voices challenge the war on Iran
Dissenting Jewish organisations are challenging support for war on Iran, reframing Jewish identity around justice, international law and the equal value of all lives.
10 April 2026
The language of war is built on lies
The language used by Trump and Netanyahu turns violence into virtue, framing war as moral, necessary and inevitable while masking its human cost.
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 PDFLatest on China
15 April 2026
China doubles down on state-led tech – and delays reform
China’s latest Five-Year Plan doubles down on state-led investment in high-tech sectors, strengthening national power while sidelining structural reform and consumption-led growth.
12 April 2026
China’s response to war is strategy, not opportunism
As war disrupts the Middle East, China is focused on stability and long-term strategy – but much of the commentary in Australia continues to misread its intentions.
9 April 2026
How to take down a US F-35 over Iran? Chinese engineer’s tutorial goes viral
Technically skilled Chinese civilians are sharing open-source military analysis online, targeting US power in Iran’s war.
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