The return of great power relations: a world of bounded orders – Part 2
Geoff Raby

Foreign Policy Rethink

The return of great power relations: a world of bounded orders – Part 2

china,  politics,  usa,  world

In the second part of his piece for the Foreign Policy Rethink series, Geoff Raby examines how China is constructing a competing global order and reshaping the institutions that underpin international relations.

Poorly designed campaign finance laws weaken our democracy
Simon Holmes à Court

Poorly designed campaign finance laws weaken our democracy

The High Court’s ruling on Victoria’s electoral laws shows how poorly designed campaign finance rules can undermine both fairness and the reforms they were meant to achieve.

The forgotten war Australia would rather not remember
Paddy Gourley

The forgotten war Australia would rather not remember

Michael Piggott's 'New Feller Master: Beyond the Trenches Australia’s Neglected WWI Story', details Australia’s occupation of New Guinea and challenges familiar national narratives – confronting uncomfortable truths about power, race and legacy.

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Lovin’ democracy? You’re probably doing all right, then
Ross Gittins

Lovin’ democracy? You’re probably doing all right, then

Australia remains one of the world’s stronger democracies, but rising economic stress and inequality are shaping how people feel about it.

Tune in, turn on, and drop out: the case for legalising psychedelics is stronger than ever
Greg Barns

Tune in, turn on, and drop out: the case for legalising psychedelics is stronger than ever

Decades of prohibition have failed to stop psychedelic drug use while blocking research and treatment options, raising questions about the basis of current laws.

Non-discrimination is a core Australian value. We must defend it
Steph Cousins

Non-discrimination is a core Australian value. We must defend it

Policies which link migration to “values” undermine a fundamental principle of Australia’s immigration system – fairness without discrimination.

Tehran demands hundreds of billions in reparations. Guess who will pay?
Eugene Doyle

Tehran demands hundreds of billions in reparations. Guess who will pay?

If Iran succeeds in extracting reparations for the US–Israeli war, it would mark an historic shift in how power and accountability operate in the international system.

John Menadue

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The return of great power relations: What can middle powers do? Part 1
Geoff Raby

Foreign Policy Rethink

The return of great power relations: What can middle powers do? Part 1

As part of the Foreign Policy Rethink series, Geoff Raby examines how Trump’s shift to great power politics is reshaping the global order and forcing middle powers to rethink their strategy.

A prime-time hit job on renewables falls apart under basic facts
Giles Parkinson

A prime-time hit job on renewables falls apart under basic facts

Spotlight's TV report on renewables and EVs collapses under basic fact-checking, highlighting how misinformation is shaping Australia’s energy debate.

The diesel shock shows why government must help freight electrify
Bruce Hardy

The diesel shock shows why government must help freight electrify

As diesel prices surge, freight operators face mounting pressure, highlighting the urgent need for immediate support and a longer-term shift to electrified transport.

Louise Adler on Howard Jacobson’s Howl – a novel overtaken by ideology
Louise Adler

Louise Adler on Howard Jacobson’s Howl – a novel overtaken by ideology

The review that the mainstream media would not run – Louise Adler on Booker-Prize winner Howard Jacobson's latest novel Howl.

Study warns of terrifying Atlantic Ocean current collapse
Stephen Prager

Study warns of terrifying Atlantic Ocean current collapse

New research shows a critical Atlantic Ocean current system is weakening faster than expected, raising the risk of irreversible climate disruption.

On immigration, we’ve heard this before – and we were wrong then too
Desmond Manderson

On immigration, we’ve heard this before – and we were wrong then too

Warnings about immigration echo almost word for word the fears once directed at post-war arrivals – fears history has already discredited.

When prisons expand, policy has already failed
Jane Anderson

When prisons expand, policy has already failed

Plans to convert a Covid quarantine facility into a prison reflect a justice system responding to pressure with infrastructure instead of addressing the drivers of incarceration.

Labor’s foreign policy no longer matches the world it faces
Kym Davey

Foreign Policy Rethink

Labor’s foreign policy no longer matches the world it faces

In the second on our Rethinking Foreign Policy series Kym Davey says Labor’s foreign policy platform is out of step with current realities – clinging to US alliance settings while ignoring its own commitment to self-reliance and the opportunities of the Asia-Pacific.

Why has populism's influence increased politically
Michael Keating

Why has populism's influence increased politically

Claims that rising inequality is driving populism overlook the evidence – stagnant wages and falling living standards are the more likely cause.

It takes two to make alliances and the US may run away first
Jack Waterford

It takes two to make alliances and the US may run away first

As US commitment to alliances wavers, Australia faces urgent questions about its security, independence, and place in a rapidly shifting global order.

Duniam contradicts Taylor on Coalition immigration policy
Abul Rizvi

Duniam contradicts Taylor on Coalition immigration policy

Recent comments from Coalition Shadow Immigration Spokesperson Jonno Duniam expose inconsistencies in the party's immigration policy, raising questions about feasibility, cost, and intent.

As warnings mount over Trump, Cuba pays the price
Richard Broinowski

As warnings mount over Trump, Cuba pays the price

A renewed US oil embargo on Cuba is deepening hardship on the island, reflecting a long-standing pattern of intervention driven as much by ideology as strategy.

You can’t rush peace: the fatal flaws in the US–Iran talks
Connie Peck

You can’t rush peace: the fatal flaws in the US–Iran talks

The collapse of recent US–Iran talks highlights how flawed negotiation design – not just substance – can doom peace efforts from the start.

New detection tech could make AUKUS submarines obsolete
John Queripel

New detection tech could make AUKUS submarines obsolete

Chinese researchers have developed a new gravity-based detector that could be used to find submarines and render the proposed AUKUS submarine redundant.

Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US
John Menadue

Foreign Policy Rethink

Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US

P&I today begins a major new series - rethinking Australia's foreign policy. The United States is becoming more erratic and less reliable, and Australia must respond by insulating itself – strengthening regional ties, rethinking defence settings, and reducing strategic dependence, according to John Menadue. 

AUKUS and the sunk cost trap beneath the surface
Stewart Sweeney

AUKUS and the sunk cost trap beneath the surface

As warfare shifts decisively toward autonomous and distributed systems, Australia’s massive investment in nuclear submarines risks locking in a costly and inflexible strategy.

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 letters to the editor
The Weekly

Alan Pinsker — Canberra

Thanks for another engaging Pearls and Irritations. My friend George Browning ignores some of the big picture realpolitik in his piece, including that the extreme Islamist Iranian regime is an existential threat to Israel, the region and beyond through its terrorist proxies and its nuclear ambitions, Trump’s clear military success so far and its potential to reshape the Middle East for the better. Kos Samaras makes some interesting points about pivoting the Libs' immigration policy attack to the clear negative impacts of mass migration, but perhaps misses a point that when people blame “The Government “ in surveys rather than...
UAE and Australian arms sales

Richard Barnes — Naarm / Melbourne

Thanks to Eugene Doyle for bringing to readers' attention the fact that the UAE is a powerhouse of self-interested destruction on the world stage. Most readers were probably unaware that the glittering towers of Dubai are funded by arms sales and exploitation. I was stunned recently to learn that the UAE is by far the largest purchaser of Australian arms exports. (Yes, that is not an error: the largest - by far). Ignoring the concerns raised by many NGOs, Austrade recently stated that the UAE’s extensive and ongoing defence procurement program represents real opportunities for Australian suppliers”. Worsening the ignominy,...
Australian Values – who would pass ?

Andrea Coney — Port Fairy

Jocelyn Chey states the sad fact that not all Australians would pass a test based on the Australian Values Statement as once again we hear Angus Taylor pontificating on…“Australian values protecting the Australian way of life and making Australia Great!” Not only do I agree with Jocelyn Chey but I would suggest that most of our politicians would not pass the Australian Values test. I would like to take this opportunity to provide readers with a brief outline of the “Australian Values” published by the Department of Home Affairs. Respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual Freedom of...
More nuance needed in covering South Korea

Michael Bennett — Queensland

Mr Armstrong, I have learned to pay attention to South Korea because a relative of mine is a long term member of Army, the enormous fan base of BTS, whose comeback concert you covered on 16 April. At the time you wrote that the Korea Times reported only 46,000 attended the concert and suggested that was a reason for a drop in the share price of the parent company. These claims, repeated not just by your good self, but my many media outlets around the world outraged Army fans who knew that the true figure was much larger. There is...
Federal election reviews

David Griffiths — Mordialloc VIC 3195

Three books about Labor since 2022 and the 2025 Federal Election have missed the point about voters wanting fighters – not managers. Landslide – the 2025 Australian Federal Election, Ed by Marian Sawer, Jill Sheppard and John Warhurst, ANU Press Promise and performance – Albanese's First Term, Ed by Scott Prasser, Connor Court Publishing The First Albanese Government - Governing in an Age of Disruption and division 2022-2025, Ed John Hawkins, Michelle Grattan and John Halligan, UNSW Press The books agree on the Labor pursuit of stability, safety and competence and the Liberal incompetence and arrogance. Two other books, however,...
Big oil earnings bonanza

Fiona Colin — Melbourne

Who would be Chris Bowen, especially now as the hounding from the further-emboldened fossil fuel hawkers and climate-change ignorers intensifies? “We must dig, and we must drill” says Angus Taylor. Pauline Hanson wants more oil and gas production. The Murdochs and Rineharts of this world are all on board. Fossil fuel profits are soaring. In 2019, such was the antipathy to our energy transition that the Coalition promoted the highly dubious hydrogen car and shamelessly denigrated EVs. Now those same nay-sayers simply double down in confected outrage that Labor is not doing enough to build oil security. From 2012 governments...
Stop making our forests more flammable

Ray Peck — Hawthorn

It is shocking that only 0.47 per cent of Alpine Ash forests in the Central Highlands is old growth. You would think that statistic alone would be enough to preserve these forests, yet research by David Lindenmayer, Chris Taylor and Phil Zylstra shows current practices such as thinning, fire breaks and prescribed burning are making forests more flammable. Old forests are less flammable because their dense canopy keeps them moist, and they contain fewer fine fuels and more decomposed material, reducing ignition and spread. Climate change is making conditions more favourable for severe thunderstorms and “dry lightning,” increasing bushfire ignition...
Improving the Greens vote

Byron Comninos — Waverley, NSW

Drew Hutton's article on how the Greens could significantly improve their vote is insightful, sympathetic and in my view spot-on. As a relatively longstanding member of the NSW Greens, a veteran of decades of dissent and an exile from the Labor Party, I have also been concerned with what I consider an arrogance, intolerance and narrow mindedness on the part of some Greens – these very same attributes that are sometimes levelled at their adversaries. There are numerous voters in the broader electorate that have a range of opinions that mix what might be considered Left and Right wing views...