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Pearlcasts

As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.

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Stagflation risk puts tax reform back on the table
Michael Keating

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.

Voters no longer want managers – they want fighters
Kos Samaras

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.

Trump deletes image of himself as Jesus-like saviour after backlash
Elizabeth Melimopoulos,  Reuters

Trump deletes image of himself as Jesus-like saviour after backlash

Donald Trump is facing criticism from church leaders, conservatives and political figures after posting an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure and attacking Pope Leo XIV.

Climate change, the community and the Coalition: going slower
Chas Keys

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.

No one likes the Job-ready Graduate scheme – so why does it still exist?
Bruce Chapman

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.

China doubles down on state-led tech – and delays reform
Anthony Saich

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.

By avoiding means testing, the government is giving handouts to the rich
Robert Breunig

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.

John Menadue

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Defund, don’t debate – the playbook for silencing dissent
Sue Barrett

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.

Albo’s signature secrecy will ultimately bring him down
Jack Waterford

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.

Australia’s pre-emptive strike against Iranian asylum seekers
Peter Hughes

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.

Pope Leo reframes the moral language of war
Antonio Spadaro

Pope Leo reframes the moral language of war

Leo may help break a trend that has dominated American Catholicism – less religion as national glue, more faith as a critique of power.

Orbán out – Hungary votes to end 16 years of rule
Brett Wilkins

Orbán out – Hungary votes to end 16 years of rule

Hungary’s election has ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, with voters backing a conservative challenger promising a return to democratic norms and a closer European path.

A costly rewrite of R&D – with no price tag
John H Howard

A costly rewrite of R&D – with no price tag

Proposed changes to Australia’s R&D tax system would expand eligibility beyond genuine research, concentrate benefits among a narrow group of firms, and proceed without clear costings.

When the world changes, economic policy must too
Gareth Bryant,  Ben Spies-Butcher

When the world changes, economic policy must too

A new geopolitical shock is exposing the limits of economic orthodoxy, echoing past crises where sticking to old rules only deepened the damage.

Closing Afghanistan’s embassy serves no Australian interest
William Maley

Closing Afghanistan’s embassy serves no Australian interest

Australia’s decision to close the Afghan Embassy risks aiding the Taliban, undermining diaspora communities, and weakening future diplomatic options in a volatile region.

Read our series

A Year in Review 10 Anti China Media Watch 20 Australia in Our Region 14
Best of 2025 134 Gourley on Government 14 History 1
Review 11 The Dismissal at 50 28 The UN at 80 4
Year in Review 2 Young Global Leaders 6

Latest on Palestine and Israel

The world acts for oil – but not for human life
Refaat Ibrahim

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.

Identity, influence and division – Australia’s Jewish community in a time of tension
John Warhurst

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.

Pope 1, Trump 0 – Message from the Editor
Catriona Jackson

Pope 1, Trump 0 – Message from the Editor

You think things can’t get any worse and then they do!

Ending Israel’s war on peace
Jeffrey D. Sachs,  Sybil Fares

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.

US disapproval of Israel hits an all-time high
Julia Conley

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.

Jewish voices challenge the war on Iran
Awni Etaywe

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.

The language of war is built on lies
Stuart Rees

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.

From Gaza to Minab – children are paying the price of war
Ramzy Baroud

From Gaza to Minab – children are paying the price of war

The scale of children killed, wounded and orphaned in modern conflicts demands more than outrage – it requires a refusal to accept their deaths as normal.

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

China doubles down on state-led tech – and delays reform
Anthony Saich

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.

China’s response to war is strategy, not opportunism
Jocelyn Chey

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.

How to take down a US F-35 over Iran? Chinese engineer’s tutorial goes viral
Chao Kongin

How to take down a US F-35 over Iran? Chinese engineer’s tutorial goes viral

china,  politics,  usa,  world

Technically skilled Chinese civilians are sharing open-source military analysis online, targeting US power in Iran’s war.

More from Pearls and Irritations

Closing Afghanistan’s embassy serves no Australian interest
William Maley

Closing Afghanistan’s embassy serves no Australian interest

Job-ready Graduates has failed – a first step to fixing it is on the table
Adam Lucas,  James Guthrie

Job-ready Graduates has failed – a first step to fixing it is on the table

Why “drill baby drill” won’t solve Australia’s energy problem
Sophie Vorrath

Why “drill baby drill” won’t solve Australia’s energy problem

The world acts for oil – but not for human life
Refaat Ibrahim

The world acts for oil – but not for human life

Punishment alone won’t fix youth crime
John Frew

Punishment alone won’t fix youth crime

Overpopulation is pushing Earth past breaking point
Julian Cribb

Overpopulation is pushing Earth past breaking point

China’s response to war is strategy, not opportunism
Jocelyn Chey

China’s response to war is strategy, not opportunism

Robodebt for the environment? AI will not fix Australia’s broken environmental laws
David Lindenmayer

Robodebt for the environment? AI will not fix Australia’s broken environmental laws

Environment: Nature is in decline – and we are funding the damage
Peter Sainsbury

Environment: Nature is in decline – and we are funding the damage

Pentagon threatened Pope after he condemned Trump’s military attacks
Julia Conley

Pentagon threatened Pope after he condemned Trump’s military attacks

Do people still care about opera? An insider raises some doubts
Peter Tregear

Do people still care about opera? An insider raises some doubts

Identity, influence and division – Australia’s Jewish community in a time of tension
John Warhurst

Identity, influence and division – Australia’s Jewish community in a time of tension

Latest letters to the editor

The Jewish community

Denmnis Altman — Melbourne

I usually respect John Warhurst, but his article on the Jewish community made me both angry and distressed. Like many other Jews I do not recognise myself in this account, which somehow assumes that the mainstream Jewish organisations represent all of us. There are many Australian Jews who would disagree with almost everything in John's description, in particular the assumption that we all see Israel as our homeland: yes, Israel would recognise me as a citizen, but for me--and for many others--Israel is a foreign country and we were deeply offended when PM Albanese referred to President Herzog as our...
Israel the terrorist state

David Griffiths — Mordialloc VIC 3195

Which country in the Middle East has invaded and attacked other countries? It is a country based on apartheid and the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians since 1948. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1978. 1982, 2006, 2024 and most recently 2026. Israel invaded Syria in 2024. In addition, Israel undertook military attacks on Gaza in 2008-2009, 2012 , 2014 and since 2023. Israel is a terrorist state.
Time to come to grips with overpopulation

Jenny Goldie — Cooma NSW

Julian Cribb rightly argues that having too many people destroys the living environment that supports them and that there are far more and greedier consumers than the Earth can carry. Overpopulation is indeed pushing the Earth past breaking point. We knew all this over 50 years ago when the global population was 3.6 billion, less than half what it is today. Yet the combined forces of misplaced feminism and the Catholic Church at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 essentially turned back the clock. At first glance it seemed a reasonable argument that human...
Time to tax gas exports

Amy Hiller — Melbourne, Victoria

Blind Freddy can see that Australia needs to properly tax its gas companies. We deserve a fair return for the resources extracted from our land, and we need to see gas producers pay for the enormous climate damage their operations cause. Currently, the public is left carrying the costs: worsening climate impacts, rising insurance premiums, and the looming bill for cleaning up ageing gas infrastructure. The gas industry’s business model shifts environmental and economic burdens onto the community, and the Albanese government is allowing it to continue. As Matt Pollard and Tim Buckley explain, the precedent, mandate from...

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