A beautiful mosaic: celebrating multicultural Australia
Jocelyn Chey

A beautiful mosaic: celebrating multicultural Australia

Multicultural Australia has enriched the nation’s cultural life, creativity and global standing. These achievements deserve recognition and defence at a time of growing hostility to migration.

How gun ownership works in Australia – and what may change
Suzanna Fay

How gun ownership works in Australia – and what may change

In the wake of the Bondi shootings, attention has turned to how firearms are licensed and regulated in Australia, and whether proposed reforms would address the risks they are meant to prevent.

Conflicts of interest: defending the indefensible
Kerry Breen

Conflicts of interest: defending the indefensible

Evidence to a parliamentary inquiry has raised serious questions about conflicts of interest and how they are being managed.



The long consequences of forgetting
Robert Macklin

The long consequences of forgetting

As climate breakdown, war and institutional failure converge, the comforts of forgetting no longer shield us from the consequences of our own history.

Can AI help save local journalism without hollowing it out?
Kristy Hess,  Angela Ross

Can AI help save local journalism without hollowing it out?

As local news outlets shrink and news deserts grow, artificial intelligence could deepen the crisis or, if used carefully, help sustain public-interest journalism at the community level.

Prabowo’s first year: all power, no accountability
Duncan Graham

Prabowo’s first year: all power, no accountability

A year after Prabowo Subianto’s election, Indonesia’s democracy is under strain as power centralises, dissent is curtailed and the military’s influence grows.

AUKUS meets reality – UK ‘all in’ a mess (Part 2)
Peter Briggs

AUKUS meets reality – UK ‘all in’ a mess (Part 2)

Australia is betting on a British program plagued by delays, underinvestment and workforce shortages – a gamble that risks leaving the country without any sovereign submarine capability.

The market lie at the heart of public education policy
John Frew

The market lie at the heart of public education policy

Treating public schools as competitors in an education marketplace shifts blame downward, obscures chronic underfunding and corrodes the very purpose of public education.

Blame, grief and responsibility after Bondi
George Browning

Blame, grief and responsibility after Bondi

In the aftermath of a devastating attack on Sydney’s Jewish community, political leaders must resist the urge to weaponise grief or assign blame.

Australia’s teachers – undervalued and overburdened
Allan Patience

Australia’s teachers – undervalued and overburdened

As ATAR scores dominate headlines, the work of teachers remains largely invisible. They are central to education and social cohesion, yet underpaid, overworked and routinely taken for granted.

2025 in Review: ageing, policy failure and a year of misplaced priorities
Patricia Edgar

A year in review

2025 in Review: ageing, policy failure and a year of misplaced priorities

Looking back on 2025, a year marked by global turmoil, timid reform at home, policy failure on ageing and a rushed social media ban that mistakes gesture for solution.



Latest on Palestine and Israel

Blame, grief and responsibility after Bondi
George Browning

Blame, grief and responsibility after Bondi

In the aftermath of a devastating attack on Sydney’s Jewish community, political leaders must resist the urge to weaponise grief or assign blame.

Book Review: Selling Israel: propaganda, history and contested narratives
Eleanor J Bader

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.

Global campaign amplifies call for the release of jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti
Nagham Zbeedat

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.

What charges does Benjamin Netanyahu face, and what’s at stake if he is granted a pardon?
Michelle Burgis-Kasthala

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.

‘Genocide is not over,’ Amnesty leader says as Israel keeps bombing Gaza
Jessica Corbett

‘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.”

Gaza’s true death toll could be 126,000 or even higher
Brad Reed

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.

The ceasefire that isn’t: 400 violations in 40 days
Refaat Ibrahim

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.

The UN embraces colonialism: the Security Council and the US Gaza plan
Craig Mokhiber

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.


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

Book extract: Understanding China: governance, socio-economics, global influence
Chandran Nair

Book extract: Understanding China: governance, socio-economics, global influence

China’s rise has reshaped global economics, lifted millions out of poverty, and challenged Western assumptions about governance. This extract from 'Understanding China, Governance, Socio-Economics Global Influence' argues that engagement, not confrontation, offers the only viable path forward.

Ceding the future to China
Chas Freeman

Ceding the future to China

china usa

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.

China’s challenge is explaining why it succeeded
John Hopkins

China’s challenge is explaining why it succeeded

china politics usa world

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.


John Menadue

Support our independent media with your donation

Pearls and Irritations leads the way in raising and analysing vital issues often neglected in mainstream media. Your contribution supports our independence and quality commentary on matters importance to Australia and our region.

Donate

More from Pearls and Irritations


Latest letters to the editor

The standard you walk past is the standard you accept

Geoffh Taylor — Borlu (Perth)

Re the contradictions Stuart Rees notes: How many Australians enjoyed the spectacle of Richard Marles standing alongside US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington this week. I guess he had to do it for the sake of Aukus, and to “preposition” (meaning what?) US troops in Australia. But the US military has just been alleged by some senior US figures to be complicit in the murder of Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza, and the killing of 93 other civilians on the high seas including two survivors of a US Navy strike. Who gave the orders and the rules of engagement...
Why ignore the historical context of the war in Ukraine?

Peter Henning — Melbourne

The historical contexts of the current war in Ukraine are simply ignored in this article as if they don’t exist. First, there is a complex web of centuries-old shared cultural, linguistic, religious, social, economic and strategic interests between Russia and Ukraine. Second, Russia will never forget that Operation Barbarossa by German forces against the Soviet Union in 1941 targeted Ukraine as a major strategic objective. Third, the US, France, UK and Germany made security assurances throughout 1990-91 to Gorbachev that NATO would not expand “one inch” further after the USSR endorsed German reunification, which led Gorbachev to...
Hard Times

Bernartd Corden — Spring Hill QLD 4000

Les Macdonald's recent letter covering the Wang Fuk Court tragedy in Honk Kong entitled 'Let the facts speak for themselves' left me reflecting on Thomas Gradgrind, the fictional character and notorious school board superintendent in Hard Times by Charles Dickens. The rigid and persistent pedagogue was obsessed with cold facts and numbers, and his adolescent pupils were treated as machines, or pitchers which were to be filled to the brim with facts. Replication and transfer of data is not learning. It is merely indoctrination, and the conundrum is discussed extensively by Henry Giroux and the late Paulo Freire....
Australia is over-governed

Elizabeth Sprigg — Melbourne

I agree with Allan Patience. Australia is over-governed. Abolishing upper houses in the states would save an enormous amount of money. And Tasmania should become a federal territory. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund shows how Australia fails to follow the example of successful countries. Expertise should be pooled to take advantage of experienced people nation-wide. This would benefit the whole country. Melbourne needs the expensive infrastructure Patience criticises, but not funded by cutting other essential services. Funds would be available by implementing Patience’s ideas. The revision of the federation is urgent.



Latest from Al Jazeera

Israel demolishes more buildings in military-controlled Gaza: Analysis
Satellite images show ongoing demolitions behind 'yellow line'; experts warn actions likely violate Geneva Convention.
England’s resident doctors to strike for five days
Physicians are seeking a return of salaries to their 2008-2009 levels before they were eroded by inflation.
Why are Gaza’s war-damaged homes collapsing in winter?
Gaza’s residents face deadly winter storms as weakened, bombed-out homes collapse.
Who is Jose Antonio Kast, Chile’s newly elected far-right leader?
The president-elect has vowed to tackle crime and tighten immigration policies.
Police detain son of Hollywood director-actor Rob Reiner
US President Donald Trump blamed Reiner's death on criticism of Trump, but details of the incident are still unclear.
EU launches aid flights to Sudan’s Darfur as humanitarian crisis escalates
RSF takeover of Darfur's el-Fasher makes 'catastrophic situation' even worse. Now Kordofan at risk of same atrocities.