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13 December 2025
How to navigate the Support at Home maze
Australia’s revamped aged care system was supposed to streamline access and improve support. Instead, older people are confronting long waits, rising costs, confusing assessments and opaque rules that too often leave them without the help they need.
13 December 2025
Don’t take it from us – here’s what great Australians think of P&I
At the time of writing, Pearls & Irritations is still $23,405 short of its critically needed fundraising target, with just four days remaining. Leading Australian thinkers explain why independent, expert-led analysis matters more than ever.
13 December 2025
Federal Court dispatches Sofronoff empty-handed
The Federal Court has again shown itself to be a brutal arena for rebuilding reputations. In Justice Walter Sofronoff’s case, the court has backed the Integrity Commission’s conclusion of serious corrupt conduct.
Launching Pearlcasts
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.
Go to Pearlcasts
13 December 2025
Journalist files defence in anti-Semitism test case
Mary Kostakidis, a national TV news presenter in Australia for two decades, has asked a federal judge to throw out the Zionist Federation’s charge against her of racially vilifying Jews, reports Joe Lauria.
13 December 2025
The Colby Review, AUKUS and lopsided commitments
The Colby review of AUKUS highlights how deeply Australia has tied itself to US strategic priorities while offering little clarity on what Canberra receives in return.
13 December 2025
Frankie Goes to Bethlehem: myth, music and the power of love
In 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood released a reverent nativity ballad that revealed how myth, music and Christmas still speak beyond belief.
13 December 2025
A West Bank farmer left for dead – and a system that looks the other way
A Palestinian farmer survived a near-fatal settler attack – raising urgent questions about protection, impunity, and the role of Israeli authorities.
12 December 2025
What didn't happen in 2025
As leaders promised change at home and abroad, 2025 was shaped less by decisive action than by stalled reforms, broken assurances and opportunities left untouched.
12 December 2025
Why the Vatican’s latest word on women deacons has angered reformers
A newly released Vatican document on women deacons has sparked anger among Catholic reformers, revealing deep resistance to change, clericalism, and the marginalisation of women in church leadership.
12 December 2025
One fire, one-sided view: how the ABC's fire 'analysis' became narrative
Australia’s public broadcaster is trusted because it separates analysis from opinion. A recent ABC news analysis article blurs that line – with serious consequences for credibility.
12 December 2025
UN report: acting on climate now would make the world richer, not poorer
A major UN report finds that investing in climate action would deliver enormous economic gains, while failure to act would slash growth, drive instability and cost millions of lives.
Latest on Palestine and Israel
5 December 2025
Book Review: Selling Israel: propaganda, history and contested narratives
Harriet Malinowitz’s Selling Israel examines how Zionist ideology has been promoted through propaganda, history and selective memory, and why separating Judaism from Zionism matters in confronting antisemitism.
3 December 2025
Global campaign amplifies call for the release of jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti
An international campaign is calling for the release of Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti, arguing his freedom could reshape Palestinian politics and revive peace efforts.
3 December 2025
What charges does Benjamin Netanyahu face, and what’s at stake if he is granted a pardon?
Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a pardon while still on trial for corruption. The move raises serious questions about legal accountability, judicial independence and political survival.
1 December 2025
‘Genocide is not over,’ Amnesty leader says as Israel keeps bombing Gaza
“So far, there is no indication that Israel is taking serious measures to reverse the deadly impact of its crimes and no evidence that its intent has changed.”
29 November 2025
Gaza’s true death toll could be 126,000 or even higher
New research suggests Gaza’s death toll may be far higher than widely reported, with devastating implications for life expectancy, poverty and accountability.
25 November 2025
The ceasefire that isn’t: 400 violations in 40 days
Israel has violated the ceasefire in Gaza hundreds of times since October, using vague or unverified justifications to carry out strike in a recurring pattern of escalation and impunity.
23 November 2025
The UN embraces colonialism: the Security Council and the US Gaza plan
The Security Council's backing of the Trump plan for Gaza ignores international law, punishes the Palestinians, and rewards those responsible for genocide.
21 November 2025
UN Members complicit in genocide
UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese discusses why, in her most recent report, she called out more than 60 nations for their collective-crime roles in the ongoing genocide in 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 PDFLatest on China
7 December 2025
Ceding the future to China
Delivered as remarks to Brown University’s Watson School during its “China Chat” series, Chas Freeman reflects on China’s return to global prominence and the United States’ accelerating retreat from the international order it once led – and asks what coexistence looks like as power shifts in the 21st century.
6 December 2025
China’s challenge is explaining why it succeeded
Western commentary often dwells on China’s problems while overlooking the cultural and historical foundations of its extraordinary achievements. Understanding both is essential to informed judgement.
6 December 2025
Hong Kong high-rise renovations a murky, greedy industry – Asian Media Report
From Hong Kong’s deadly tower fire and surging renovation graft, to climate-fuelled floods across Asia, record weapons sales, a massive Korean data breach and collapsing Chinese tourism in Japan, this week’s Asian media coverage reveals the region’s mounting pressures and political tensions.
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Latest letters to the editor
Let the facts speak for themselves
Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041
And have a guess who is responsible?
Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041
Memo to Albanese: still a little left to destroy
Richard Llewellyn — Colo Vale
Climate and the pursuit of capital
Fiona Colin — Melbourne