Pearlcasts
As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.
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3 February 2026
Making polluters pay could fix Australia’s climate problem – and its budget
A new report shows how making polluters pay will not only diminish the threat from climate change, but it can also help restore the budget and the economy.
3 February 2026
The smouldering wreckage on Capital Hill – part 1
The Coalition’s implosion after the Bondi sitting was not a sudden accident. It exposed long-running tensions between the Liberals and Nationals, intensified by polling anxiety, One Nation’s rise and the limits of Australia’s Westminster conventions.
3 February 2026
Trump’s tariffs and threats are pushing the world to look elsewhere
The EU–India trade deal marks more than a commercial agreement. It signals a growing willingness among major economies to reduce their exposure to US coercion and to build new trade frameworks beyond Washington’s reach.
3 February 2026
Why the Voice referendum failed – and what the government hasn’t learned from it
The defeat of the Voice referendum was not preordained. It reflected political misjudgement, inadequate preparation and a failure to treat constitutional reform as the serious democratic work it requires.
3 February 2026
Plan B: towards an Australian model of military self-reliance
Australia’s defence posture remains shaped by expeditionary assumptions at a time when alliance guarantees are less certain. Building a credible Plan B requires a renewed focus on territorial defence, resilience and self-reliance.
3 February 2026
Gordon de Brouwer: A disappointing legacy
Gordon de Brouwer leaves as APS Commissioner having strengthened capability processes and leadership roles, but without the legislative and institutional reforms needed to restore integrity, independence and long-term resilience.
3 February 2026
Mexico’s political transformation: the revolution isn’t being televised
Mexico’s government has delivered falling violence, rising wages and broad social reform. Yet its record has attracted remarkably little attention in the English-language media, even as external pressure from the United States intensifies.
3 February 2026
Indonesia’s economy wobbles as policy ambition outpaces planning
Market volatility, investor unease and fiscal strain are exposing deeper risks in Indonesia’s economy – where policy ambition is running ahead of institutional readiness.
2 February 2026
Australia’s Trump reprieve masks a deeper strategic dilemma
Australia may have escaped the worst of Donald Trump’s return to power so far. But beneath the surface, Washington’s shift towards spheres of influence is exposing serious weaknesses in Australia’s strategic posture.
2 February 2026
Mass layoffs continue to punish working class under Trump
Major US companies including Amazon, UPS and Dow are announcing large job cuts as employment growth slows, raising questions about the strength of the US labour market under Donald Trump.
2 February 2026
Steadfast state support is key to China winning tech race with US
China’s sustained investment in science, engineering and technology is pulling it ahead globally, while the United States cuts research funding and hollow-outs its scientific workforce.
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Latest on Palestine and Israel
29 January 2026
A war without headlines
The annihilation of Gaza has rendered the violence in the West Bank seemingly secondary in the global imagination.
26 January 2026
From international law to loyalty and deals: Trump’s Board of Peace play
The Trump-led Board of Peace points to a shift away from international law and multilateral institutions toward a system built on loyalty, coercion and financial leverage.
24 January 2026
Cultural “cohesion” becomes censorship, and a festival falls apart
Adelaide Writer’s Week was derailed after the withdrawal of an invited speaker, triggering mass author withdrawals and a board resignation. The episode raises hard questions about free speech, institutional courage, and the politics of Israel and Gaza in Australia’s cultural life.
23 January 2026
Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny – and this one ticks every box
A sweeping new bill to combat antisemitism, hate and extremism was rushed through federal parliament this week with minimal scrutiny and major rule-of-law flaws. Its vague definitions, retrospective reach and expanded executive powers risk undermining rights, due process and democratic accountability.
20 January 2026
The rules are breaking – and the world is watching
The abduction of Venezuela’s president signals a world where power is replacing law, and impunity is setting the pace.
18 January 2026
Best of 2025 - Gaza’s economy has collapsed beyond recognition
Gaza’s economy, society and basic infrastructure have been almost entirely wiped out. With 90 per cent of people displaced, food systems destroyed and schools and hospitals in ruins, reconstruction is becoming harder by the day.
16 January 2026
Banning slogans won’t build social cohesion
After Bondi, New South Wales politicians want to ban words and slogans. But rushed laws could punish political speech, not protect the public.
16 January 2026
Iran in the vortex: what's really happening
As protests unfold in Iran, Israeli and US figures openly talk of regime collapse. Foreign interference risks worsening violence and derailing change from within.
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
2 February 2026
Steadfast state support is key to China winning tech race with US
China’s sustained investment in science, engineering and technology is pulling it ahead globally, while the United States cuts research funding and hollow-outs its scientific workforce.
31 January 2026
Historic trade deal rejects Trump’s chaotic protectionism – Asian Media Report
The mother of all trade deals to America’s new defence strategy, the dismissal of a PLA princeling, Prabowo’s Peace Board support, ASEAN’s rejection of Myanmar junta’s poll victory and the deadly serious business of marriage in China – we present the latest news and views from our region.
31 January 2026
Historic trade deal rejects Trump’s chaotic protectionism – Asian Media Report
The mother of all trade deals to America’s new defence strategy, the dismissal of a PLA princeling, Prabowo’s Peace Board support, ASEAN’s rejection of Myanmar junta’s poll victory and the deadly serious business of marriage in China – we present the latest news and views from our region.
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Latest letters to the editor
The propaganda of American might
Ian Bowrey — Hamilton South
Tactical voting by Labor voters
John Small — Marrickville, NSW
But what about Pine Gap?
Penny Lee — Western Australia
Translation problems
Geoff Taylor — Borlu (Perth)