Pearlcasts
As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.
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29 January 2026
What Labor’s review reveals about tactical voting and the Teals
New figures from Labor’s post-election review shed light on a long-suspected pattern – extensive tactical voting by Labor supporters in Teal and independent contests, with implications for future elections.
29 January 2026
The end of the lucky country’s security fantasy
As the post-war global order unravels, Australia’s long-standing reliance on great and powerful friends is proving dangerously hollow – and the country is unprepared for what comes next.
29 January 2026
Blaming the Privacy Act for government secrecy
Claims of “privacy” are increasingly being used to obscure the reasons and costs behind the premature departure of senior public servants – eroding transparency and accountability.
29 January 2026
If we’re choosing a national day, there are better options
Australia's national day marks the beginning of its colonisation. There are better, more meaningful dates that reflect Australian nationhood and democratic choice.
29 January 2026
The Supreme Court should ignore Trump – tariffs haven’t rescued the US economy
Donald Trump’s claim that tariffs have “rescued” the US economy relies on selective data, economic misunderstanding, and a dangerous conflation of trade policy with national security.
29 January 2026
Bazball in Australia: poor philosophy or poor execution?
England's Bazballers have left our shores, having lost the Ashes series and with their playing code widely panned. But was it the code or the execution that was responsible for England’s defeat?
29 January 2026
Trump labor department takes a page from Hitler’s playbook
Official social media from the US Labor Department now echoes the imagery, language and logic of authoritarian propaganda – a warning sign for workers’ rights and democratic institutions.
29 January 2026
Australia Day debate hardens as middle ground disappears
Australians remain split on whether January 26 should remain Australia Day – but new survey data shows attitudes are hardening, with fewer people holding moderate views and more expressing strong opposition or support.
29 January 2026
Trump, misogyny, and the refusal of repair
Donald Trump’s dismissal of domestic violence as “a little fight with the wife” was not accidental. It exposes how minimising harm functions to protect authority, deflect accountability, and stabilise power under pressure.
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.
28 January 2026
The United States is a lawless and dangerous ally. What is Australia's Plan B?
Mark Carney’s Davos speech highlights a world in rupture, not transition. Australia needs to rethink its dependence on the United States and begin preparing a credible Plan B.
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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
28 January 2026
China’s ambitions are narrower than Washington thinks
China’s foreign policy priorities are driven more by domestic stability and long-standing sovereignty claims than by ambitions to dominate the global order.
21 January 2026
The US is powerless to push China out of Latin America
Trump’s move on Venezuela signals a wider push to squeeze China out of Latin America. But Beijing’s trade, investment and infrastructure ties may prove hard to unwind.
20 January 2026
Can Washington still strike a grand bargain with Beijing?
A prominent Chinese academic argues the conditions are right for a US–China “grand bargain”. But recent events in Venezuela and the Middle East raise hard questions about what kind of America China is dealing with.
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