John Menadue

John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.

John's recent articles

CHRISTOPHER LAMB. Cardinal Pell analysis: What happens next? The Pell case has become something of a litmus te st for the churchs handling of abuse

The Vatican is holding off from issuing any disciplinary measures against Cardinal George Pell until the Australian prelate has exhausted all legal avenues in trying to overturn his convictions for the sexual abuse of children.

TOM EMBURY-DENNIS. Trump promotes claim Jewish Israelis love him like he is King of Israel and second coming of God (Independent 22-8-19)

Outburst comes less than 24 hours after president usedantisemitic trope about Jewish loyalty

GEORGE MICKHAIL. There is no freedom in a society, if there is no public order!

The French Polices brutal force against the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) protesters since November 2018 did not attract the same international media outrage as that directed at the Hong Kong SAR police force despite being a lot less violent than the mainstream media would make us believe.

ERNST WILLHEIM. The saga of Bernard Collaery and Witness K continues.

If you watched the program [ABC 4-Corners] you will already know this is a talk about some shameful events in Australias recent history. And I very much fear the shameful saga is about to continue. It is about Australian commercial espionage. [SPEAKING NOTES, ADDRESS TO AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. CANBERRA. 27 August 2019]

CHRIS LOWNEY. How Pope Francis Can Revitalize a Church in Crisis

Pope Franciss foremost priority should be top-to-bottom culture change in the Catholic Church, specifically: fostering a spirit of urgency, bringing new talent to all decision-making tables, and creating openness to radically new ideas.Without this thoroughgoing cultural transformation, a Church now enduring its worst crisis in five centuries will continue to deteriorate.

ILAN PAPPE. Israels latest attempt to erase Palestine (The Electronic Intifada 25-7-19)

The attempt to suppress official documentation of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948 is not new.

NATASHA STOTT DESPOJA. Celebrating Women Humanitarians

On 19th August, World Humanitarian Day, events around the world paid tribute to the women who serve on the frontline of humanitarian responses to disasters. They are often the first to respond and the last to leave, and yet their voices and rights are often ignored. In Sydney, ActionAid Australia heard from women from Vanuatu and Fiji who are part of the Shifting the Power Coalition that promotes Pacific womens leadership in humanitarian action.

BILL CLEMENTS. Grain silos and war memorials

In 2008, archaeologists from the University of Chicago discovered ancient grain storage silos in Southern Egypt. Made from mud brick, they were there when Jacobs sons, in a time of famine, came seeking grain. We are fortunate that these silos constructed from simpler, cheaper materials than the great tombs, have survived. For ancient Egypt reserved its best resources for the burial of the dead, not for domestic needs and the celebration of life. Perhaps, more than is generally recognised, Australia, too, might be pursuing this perverse priority.

ALEX COBHAM. We Could Eliminate Extreme Global Poverty If Multinationals Paid Their Taxes. (Truthout 18-8-19)

International tax rules have reached a crossroads. The reform programannounced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) this summer represents the last chance for the Organisations club of rich countries to find an approach that can curtail the rampant tax avoidance of multinational companies.

JOHN BROWN. How Quickly They Forget - But I Don't.

Some years back, one of my proudest acts as a Minister for Sport was that I introduced about 10 pieces of legislation into the Parliament to the benefit of sport which were the first pieces of legislation including the word sport introduced since Federation. One of the better pieces of this legislation was a taxation ruling which allows particular classes of people who achieve fluctuating incomes an ability to spread their income over five years. This ruling particularly benefited cricketers who over their career have good years and bad years

SR PATTY FAWKNER SGS. The Church to include or not to include?

Bostons gain has been Australias loss. Richard Lennan, a priest of the Maitland Diocese taught Theology at the Catholic Institute of Sydney for fifteen years before transferring to Boston College in 2008 where he now serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and Chair of the Ecclesiastical Faculty.

PETER WILKINSON. Witness of truth wins justice in Pell appeal

On Wednesday, 21 August 2019, a majority of the appeal judges who reviewed all the evidence in the trial of Cardinal George Pell for historic child sexual abuse, and in which he was convicted on five charges, have concluded that the key witness, a former choir boy who alleged he was abused by Cardinal Pell, was a witness of truth. On that basis, Pells appeal to have his conviction overturned was dismissed.

MICHAEL SEAN WINTERS. The Pell verdict: Various shades of justice | National Catholic Reporter

A three-judge panel in Australia has upheld the guilty verdict against Cardinal George Pell. On two of the claims put forward by Pell for overturning the verdict, the three judges were unanimous. On the third claim the key issue of reasonable doubt they divided two to one. Pell is already serving a six-year sentence for abusing a minor.

JAMES ONEILL. Latest Australian Foreign Policy Venture in the Middle East a Symptom of a Much Wider Problem

The announcement by the Prime Minister that Australia would be sending a military force to the Middle East is the latest in a series of foreign policy blunders that fails to recognise Australias foreign policy interests.

MARTIN JACQUES HK's future lies with China, not the West: (Peoples Daily Online 19-8-19)

As protests in Hong Kong continue, scholars and experts worldwide have expressed their concern over the city's economic recession and rising violence. During an exclusive interview with People's Daily Online, Martin Jacques, a senior fellow at Cambridge University, called for restored stability and order in Hong Kong, adding that its future lies only with China.

From little things, big things grow, but problems can arise

In 1984 the number of international students in Australian was minimal and I found Australian University Vice Chancellors very sceptical about encouraging international students to study in Australia .They feared the displacement of Australian students. But in the Department of Trade we pressed on and now there are almost 700 000 international students in Australia. International education is now our third largest export earner, over $30 b per annum and rapidly rising, year on year.But there are problems

JIM COOMBS. Crime is down,Gaols are bursting. Why?

It is essentially a failure of administration.The nations foremost collector of information on this, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics (BOCSAR) recently reported that nearly a third of the NSW prison population is on remand, i.e., awaiting trial.

RALPH REGENVANU. Vanuatu will host the next Pacific Islands Forum. We want to know if Australia really wants a seat at the table (The Guardian, 20 August 2019)

Last week at the close of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu I described the leaders discussions as frank and fierce. It is now well-known that the leaders debated the text of the Kainaki II Declaration for Urgent Climate Change Action Now for many hours. I do not want to comment on the tone of the debate, as many others have done that already.

BRUCE ROBERTSON. Federal government needs to stop the magical gas merry go round (Renew Economy 19-8-19)

Hearing the New South Wales government rush through two import gas terminals approvals is like revisiting the fantasy world of Mary Poppins.

PETER LEWIS. When it comes to choosing the US or China, perhaps our chickens are coming home to roost (The Guardian 20-8-19)

Essential poll finds Australians less emphatically American than many would have predicted is economic self-interest winning?

TONY WRIGHT. Spy versus spy: in Canberra, cover is where you find it. (SMH 16.8.2019)

I have wondered occasionally whether ASIO has a few grainy pictures of me sauntering to the front door of the forbidding embassy of the USSR in Canberra.

CHRISTOPHER ALTIERI. Rarely has a Vatican official spoken so bluntly on abuse.

As Spring 2019 turned into summer, journalists, media relations professionals and communications experts gathered for four days in St Petersburg, Florida, to take part in the annual Catholic Media Conference. The event, sponsored by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada, included a talk by the head of the disciplinary section in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Mgr John Kennedy.

DONNA AH CHEE. Given this history of strength and success, why do Aboriginal health dollars keep going to NINGOs? (Croakey 14-8-19)

Aboriginal community controlled health services have many advantages, including their power to advocate and shame governments into action, according to Donna Ah Chee, CEO of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress.

TREVOR WATSON. Hong Kong Chaos - Beijing weighs its options.

As Hong Kongs anti-administration protests grow stronger and increasingly violent, fears of a Tiananmen Square style response by Beijing also mount. Trevor Watson looks at the difficulty faced by China watchers as they attempt to predict the next move by one of the worlds unpredictable regimes.

GRACE BLAKELY. Why the rise of Boris Johnson is the last laugh of a decaying elite (New Statesman America 14-8-19)

Right-wing populism is a symptom of a crumbling capitalist order that no longer promises a better future for most people.

ERIC SIDOTI. Re-Imagining Bi-Partisanship

Australians have become used to the idea that major reforms demand bi-partisan support. Yet bi-partisanship, as traditionally understood, is increasingly elusive with the result that genuine reforms are either watered down or abandoned on the assumption of failure. This is being played out before our eyes in the arguments for and against putting a referendum to the people on enshrining a First Nations voice in the Australian Constitution as envisaged by the Uluru Statement From the Heart (May 2017).

PETER DALY. Tackle clericalism first when attempting priesthood reform | National Catholic Reporter

In his 2018 Letter to the People of God, Pope Francis condemned the sins of sexual abuse and the abuse of power in the church. He linked those sins to clericalism. To say no to abuse is to say an emphatic no to all forms of clericalism.

J.A. DICK Sacralizing Politics

It happens. A few days ago I was unfriended on Facebook by a fellow who fears I have ceased being a theologian and am now a political agitator. Actually, I dont mind agitating a bit but I am still very much a theologian.. If they are true to their calling, theologians must critique social movements and political positions, when they are unethical and promote false belief. It happened in the past and is happening today. And not just in the U.S.A

JOANNE SIMON-DAVIES. Housing in Australia (Australian Parliamentary Library 2.8.2019)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently released data from 2017-18Survey of Income and Housing (SIH). The SIH is a household survey which collects information on sources of income, amounts received, household net worth, housing, household characteristics and personal characteristics of persons aged 15 years and over in private dwellings throughout Australia (excluding very remote areas).

SOPHIE VORRATH. Clean Energy Regulator slams Murdoch solar scare campaign (Renew Economy 12-8-19)

Australias Clean Energy Regulator has called out the Murdoch media for inaccurate reporting on the standard and safety of rooftop solar installations, following the release of its latest national data on solar panel inspections in 2018.

GREGG BRAZINSKY. How Japans failure to atone for past sins threatens the global economy (The Washington Post 11-8-19)

Escalating trade tensions could roil global tech market

TONY BROWN. Who calls the shots? Dont mention the 'C' word

It should come as no surprise that those who trivialise our nations deadly alcohol toll or seek to inculcate and normalise alcohol into every aspect of Australias culture, regardless of the true cost, are the very same who profit from its promotion and consumption.

INGA LASS. Language of love: a quarter of Australians are in inter-ethnic relationships (The Conversation)

Australians have become much more diverse over the last few decades. In 2018, 29% of Australians were born overseas, the most it has ever been since the late 19th century.

AMITAV ACHARYA. Why ASEANs Indo-Pacific outlook matters (East Asia Forum 8-11-19)

After more than a year of deliberation, ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (the Outlook) on 23 June 2019. The Outlook then got an airing at the ASEAN Regional Forum meetings in Bangkok. The Outlook document provides a guide for ASEANs engagement in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions and resembles an Indonesian-conceived plan.

PHILIP GIRALDI. Israel Has "The Most Moral Army in the World"? (American Herald Tribune)

The creepy French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy gets it wrong

GIDEON RACHMAN. The Asian strategic order is dying. (Financial Times 6.8.2019)

When somebody is reaching the end of their life, they often suffer from lots of apparently unrelated ailments fevers,chest pains, unlucky falls. Something similar may happen when a strategic order is dying.

JESSICA MATHEWS. Americas Indefensible Defense Budget - Extracts-(The New York Review of Books)

With what former defense secretary Robert Gates termed a gargantuan, labyrinthine bureaucracy in the Pentagon, manufacturers and subcontractors for each weapons system carefully distributed across congressional districts and backed by aggressive lobbyists, members of Congress determined to protect constituents jobs, and military leaders loyal to the weapons systems they trained on and commanded, it is no surprise that the defense establishment has become extravagant, wasteful, and less agile, innovative, and forward-looking than it should be.

PETER RODGERS. Dear Prime Minister - stay firm on Iran, give strong leader wise counsel

Advice for the PM as he prepares to visit America and is honoured by dinner with Donald. Lets hope Morrison can distinguish clearly between US and Australian interests.

CHRISTOPHER SHEIL & FRANK STILWELL. The continuing redistribution of Australias wealth, upwards

The recent release of the results of the ABSs biennial survey of income and wealth met a critical response, perhaps due to a slip-shod press release. The official statisticians headline read: Inequality stable since 2013-14. In summary, the ABS announced, income and wealth inequality has remained relatively stable since 2013-14. The immediate difficulty was that neither the media release nor the official summary of the key findings included any statistics from the benchmark, the 2013-14 survey. To make sense of the news, commentators had to dive into the ABSs data cubes, where they found a different story, particularly for wealth...

ANDREA GERMANOS. 'July Has Re-Written Climate History': Month Could Go Down as Planet's Hottest Ever (Common Dreams)

As temperatures rise, so will we, says 350.org.

MARTA KWASNICKA. Habits of the heart: the problems facing Polish Catholicism

Really, there is nothing to talk about, my mother said when I asked her about her conversion to Catholicism. When I did persuade her to tell her story, it had none of the tumult and drama of English nineteenth-century converts such as John Henry Newman or Gerard Manley Hopkins, who entered the Church in defiance of their roots and in the face of fierce disapproval.

RAYMOND ZHONG. Vietnam is gathering the spoils of a trade war (The New York Times International)

No country on earth has benefited from President Trumps trade fight with China more than Vietnam.

Tugging our forelock again and again to our dangerous ally. An update

The US has coming calling again. Not an Admiral this time but the Pentecostalist Secretary of State Mike Pompeo . He is whistling us up as a faithful dog to join with the US in tackling the problems which Donald Trump created with Iran and presumably to soften us up to host missiles to protect the US marines and port facilities in Darwin. And Pine Gap.

KIERAN NOONAN. Respecting Sacred Spaces

Can you imagine the uproar if, with the convenient burning of the roof of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the French Minister for Transport approved a plan to build a freeway through the Cathedral? Through the main transept to be precise. Four lanes, dual carriageway. We suppose it will be a bit of an obstacle between the baptismal font and the main altar, but it will dramatically improve traffic movement in the city.

CONNY LENNEBERG. Youth Foyer model, an education first approach to tackling homelessness

The challenge that youth homelessness represents to our community is not intractable. In Victoria, we are seeing positive outcomes and bipartisan support for a new solution in the Education First Youth Foyer model developed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence in partnership with Launch Housing. Not only are these foyers helping young people build capacity to lead more positive independent lives, but they have also been found to make economic sense.

DAVID ISAACS HOW TO RESPOND TO ANTI-VAXXERS

At the dinner table it is not uncommon to find that someone you know and like is vehemently opposed to routine childhood immunisation. Having worked in this area all my career as a paediatric infectious disease specialist and been a member of every Government immunisation advisory committee for the last 25 years, I have struggled with quite how to respond to anti-vaxxers. Here are some thoughts.

HOWARD FRENCH. US at war with itself over China (World Politics Review, 31 July 2019)

Americas foreign policy establishment is at war with itself over the shape of the countrys approach toward a steadily rising China. For now, it is only an epistolary war. But as the debate deepens, its outcome will go far toward deciding how the United States responds to its most serious global rival for economic and geopolitical power for decades ahead.

ANDREW PESCE. Patient Gap payments and Out of Pocket Costs. What needs to be done? Part 2

The first of this two article series quantified and explained out of pocket (OOP) cost in the Australian Health system. Some areas of OOP costs are acceptable and there is no need to intervene. OOP costs for non PBS pharmaceuticals, for example, largely reflect discretionary spending on products with little proven impact on health outcomes.

ANDREW PESCE. Explaining Gap Fees and their impact. What you knew and what you may not know Part 1.

There has been recent public and media focus on out of pocket (OOP) costs for Australians receiving health care, usually referred to as Gap fees. Minister Hunt recently announced his intention to establish a Website to publish doctors fees. This reflects and maintains the public focus on gap fees charged by doctors. This is indeed an important issue, for it may be a significant impediment to equitable access to necessary health care, a principle strongly endorsed by Australians.

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