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

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE. The US has a massive military presence in the Asia-Pacific.

We are warned about Chinese island building for military purposes in the South China Sea. But all this is quite minor compared to the US military bases that encircle China and provoke the DPRK.

GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND ...

A journey through a land of extreme poverty: welcome to America the Guardian. Australia's least competitive industries are earning super-profits Ross Gittins Canberra Times. Michael Lewis writes on Trump's campaign against Department of Agriculture scientists in Vanity Fair. Americans can spot election meddling because theyve been doing it for years the Guardian A quarter of the World's land will be permanently drier if Paris climate goals not met: Study NBN expert, Paul Budde laments 'second-rate' network Newcastle Herald Trump and the liar's paradox from The Washington Posthttp://wapo.st/2CDf6a4?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.2a8e5bb5f78c In the Fairfax...

JOHN MENADUE. The Ausgrid decision and the growing power of security and intelligence agencies. A REPOST from August 2016

The Ausgrid decision on Chinese investment raises two important issues. The first is how do we get a proper balance between security concerns and the wider benefits of the relationship. Our major strategic ally the US sees China our major economic partner as a rival and threat. Read about a recent discussion between Hugh White and Geraldine Doogue on this issue. The second is how good are our security/intelligence agencies in advising the government? It is this second issue that I discuss here. In his press conference to announce the veto on the Chinese investment in Ausgrid,...

JOHN QUIGGIN. Why 2017 was a good year for climate

On the face of it, there was plenty of bad news for the climate in 2017. Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the 2105 Paris agreement and promised to reverse the decline of the coal industry. The Turnbull government rejected proposals for an efficient transition to a low-carbon energy sector, instead announcing a half-baked National Energy Guarantee designed as a lifeline for coal-fired power. Globally, CO2 emissions appeared to rise by around 2 per cent, after remaining stable for three years in a row.

MICHAEL LAMBERT. Overweight and Obesity Part 2: The indigenous Australians Impact

Part 1 of this two-part post provided a global and broad Australian perspective on the pandemic of overweight and obesity. This part sets out the position for indigenous Australians and argues that this pandemic is a significant part of the health gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and that the way forward must involve interventions to address the problem at childhood and adolescent stages.

PATRICK MCEACHERN. What is Kim Jong Un's intention with nuclear weapons?

Unlike his father and grandfather, Kim Jong Un began his reign as the top leader in North Korea with an unambiguous and tested first generation nuclear device. He showed early signs of doubling down on the nuclear program as fundamental to national security. Contrary voices publicly articulating the trade-offs associated with varying approaches to the nuclear issue observable during his fathers term evaporated under Kim Jong Un. His regime would be unified in word and deed at least publicly as it advanced its nuclear weapons capabilities. Though Kim Jong Uns North Korea oscillated between boisterous nuclear threats and relatively quiet...

No politician has the spine to stand up to Australia's intelligence state

Its standard in an end-of-year piece to attempt to identify some unifying theme in the events of an arbitrarily selected period of time. Sometimes themes and commonalities really do emerge. Other times, theyre the authors confection.

Contracting out our foreign and defence policies - A Repost from 2 February 2017)

The military and defence establishment and lobbies, both in Australia and the US are determining Australias foreign policy. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and her Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are sidelined.Locked into the US defence complex with its addiction to never ending wars we are forfeiting our ability to act in our own interests.

MICHAEL LAMBERT. Overweight and Obesity Part 1: A Global and Australian Perspective

In part 1 of this two-part post Michael Lambert sets out the broad position on overweight and obesity as both a global development and the Australian situation, the costs involved and the case for national action . The second part of this post will focus on the position with indigenous Australians, its contribution to the health gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and the need for action to target overweight and obesity in indigenous children and adolescents.

HANS-J. OHFF. Acquiring an orphan submarine. A REPOST from January 2017

If the RAN holds firm to the concept offered by DCNS it will acquire an orphan no other Navy will contemplate commissioning into service. It will own a submarines that will be expensive to build, expensive to maintain and expensive to operate. It will be a class that has no equals sadly for all the wrong reasons.

PHIL GRANO. A personal response to the marriage equality postal survey.

At first I was angry and irked by Sydney Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fishers linking of an annus horribilis with the passing of marriage equality laws in Australia. Now, a few days later, I feel saddened that the leader of the Catholic Church in Australia is incapable of reading the Spirit in our times, is so mean-spirited about love, the celebration of love and institutional support for love.

JOHN MENADUE. Is war in the American DNA? -A REPOST from JULY 2016

In his book Dangerous Allies Malcolm Fraser warned us how we can be drawn into US conflicts that are of no concern to us. We have seen that in following the US into disastrous wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan ,Iraq and Syria. Malcolm Fraser spoke of our dangerous strategic dependence. We are 'joined at the hip' to a country that is addicted to permanent war. In recent decades most of Americas' wars have been failures for themselves and countless millions of innocent people. But the failure and torpor continues . Politicians and the military in both the US and...

HELEN CLARK. The health of future generations is at risk.

The health of future generations is being mortgaged as a result of environmental degradation that threatens to reverse the health gains achieved over the past century, according to Dr Helen Clark, a global health advocate. Clark, formerly Administrator of the UN Development Programme and Prime Minister of New Zealand, told the recent launch of the University of Sydneys new Planetary Health Platform that political will and leadership from civil society and the private sector are needed to tackle the major threats to planetary health as well as collaborations across silos. Her speech is published in full below...

JOHN CARMODY. Who is Joan Sullivan?

Does the Fairfax slogan, Independent. Always, really mean independent of truth, reliability and knowledge? Or should my humble response to the extraordinary headline and story in the Sun-Herald of 31 December have been an admission that, even after an operatic obsession of more than 50 years, there might have been a great Australian singer whom Id never heard of: New Joan Sullivan theatre to hit high note. Worse still, the story that followed then wrongly mentioned that legendary name twice. Talk about rubbing salt into wounds (not to mention the clich of the headline, even if it were correct).

American Imperium - Untangling truth and fiction in an age of perpetual war

In this article ANDREW BACEVICH says 'Republicans and Democrats disagree today on many issues, but they are united in their resolve that the United States must remain the worlds greatest military power. This bipartisan commitment to maintaining American supremacy has become a political signature of our times. In its most benign form, the consensus finds expression in extravagant and unremitting displays of affection for those who wear the uniform. Considerably less benign is a pronounced enthusiasm for putting our soldiers to work keeping America safe. This tendency finds the United States more or less permanently engaged in hostilities abroad, even...

CAMERON MURRAY.Game of Mates: How favours bleed the nation A REPOST

Excerpt from Chapter 1 ofGame of Mates: How favours bleed the nation. Get the book viagameofmates.com. Follow author Cameron Murray onFacebookandTwitter.Come to the Brisbane book launch on 23rd May, 6pm at Avid Reader, West End (Details and RSVP link).

CHRIS SHEIL AND FRANK STILLWELL. Bad data collection means we dont know how much the middle class is being squeezed by the wealthy

There is a glaring need to reform Australias archaic wealth inequality statistics to make them commensurate with international practice.

GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND ...

Ross Gittins says that we would be mugs to panic and cut our company tax rate. In his book review of Polanyi'sA Life on the Left in the New York Review of Books,Robert Kuttner argues that 'Democracy cannot survive an excessively free market and containing the market is the task of politics. In his book review on Inequality and the Coming Storm, Edoardo Campanellacomments: the super-rich are not all the same. Some are entrepreneursor entertainers who create real wealth for society. Others run hedge fund, private equity firms or other rent seeking businesses who contribute nothing or little.Inequality...

ALAN PEARS. Turnbull has politicked himself into irrelevance on energy and climate in 2018

As we approach the end of the year, its useful to look back and forward. Now is an auspicious time, as two major energy-related reports have been released this week: the federal governments review of their climate change policies, and a discussion paper from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on future energy paths.

JOHN MENADUE Our derivative white mans media A REPOST

Politicians are continually blamed for their failures but our media is also responsible for the state of public discussion on important issues. This downward media spiral has been led by the Murdoch medias abuse of power in the three major English-speaking markets Australia, UK and the US. But other media, including the ABC is performing badly. In foreign and defence policies we are vassals of the US . Our media is an acolyte.

FRANCIS SULLIVAN. Australian Catholic Church must take abuse commission report seriously or risk irrelevance A REPOST

After five intense years of inquiry and more than 400 recommendations with 20 new recommendations specifically relating to the Catholic Church the report of Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is due a considered response.

MICK PALMER. Australias Illicit Drugs Policy - There Really is a better Way A REPOST

It happens time and time again. We are told breathlessly by the media with photos of bags of seized drugs flanked by Border Protection officials and police officers about how successful we are in containing the drug problem.. But is it 'success' when despite the new records in drug seizures the drug problem in the community gets worse and worse. Do Border Protection officials and police officers ask the key questions about whether existing policies are working? . A former Police Commissioner did this earlier this year in Pearls and Irritations after another record drug haul .For...

CHRISTINA HO. Racist reporting still rife in Australian media

Half of all race-related opinion pieces in the Australian mainstream media are likely to contravene industry codes of conduct on racism.

GEORGE WRIGHT. A year of dashed hopes and tyranny in Cambodia

To many, dissolution of the main opposition party caps a year in which the country became a full dictatorship.

Worries about Malaysia's 'Arabisation' grow as Saudi ties strengthen

Malaysia's growing ties to Saudi Arabia - and its puritan Salafi-Wahhabi Islamic doctrines - are coming under new scrutiny as concerns grow over an erosion of traditional religious practices and culture in the multi-ethnic nation.A string of recent events has fuelled the concern. Hostility toward atheists, non-believers and the gay community has risen.

AMANDA BIGGS. Whither the private health insurance rebate?

The private health insurance rebate is an important element in maintaining the attractiveness of private health insurance membership. The government rebate subsidises the cost of private health insurance premiums (hospital, general, and ambulance policies). It is usually applied in the form of an upfront discount to the consumer on the price of the premium, although it can be claimed back through the tax system. The rebate amount varies, depending on income levels and age.

LINDSAY MURDOCH and KATE GERAGHTY. A REPOST-The little girl in the pretty dress.

In Pearls and Irritations we have posted reports of ghastly experiences of the Rohingya people fleeing genocide, rape, starvation and displacement. Lindsay Murdoch and Kate Geraghty of the Fairfax Press, who have visited the camps in Bangladesh, have prepared a vivid recount of refugees experiences. This is one small extract, The little girl in the pretty dress (reproduced with permission).

HAMISH MCDONALD. Australia still on smoko over Asia.

When Malcolm Turnbull hosts the ten leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for an unusual summit in Sydney in March, the Australian public will know virtually nothing about most of them or the current state of affairs in their countries.

JASON HOROWITZ. Cardinal's death highlights sex abuse divide.

Early on Wednesday morning, hours after Cardinal Bernard F. Law died in a Rome hospital, a priest unlocked a small chapel at the Basilica of St. Mary Major and pointed to the spot under the marble altar and life-size crucifix where the once-mighty American prelate had arranged to be buried.

Pope Francis, on Christmas Eve, says faith demands respect of immigrants.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis strongly defended immigrants at his Christmas Eve Mass on Sunday, comparing them to Mary and Joseph finding no place to stay in Bethlehem and saying faith demands that foreigners be welcomed.

JOHN HANNON. Failed leadership and systemic failure

I believe it is time to address the elephant in the room, now that the Royal Commission has presented its findings. Last weekends Saturday Age had a dark front-page image of a large cross with claw like hands descending from the horizontal crossbar, an almost sacrilegious image, reflecting the darkness and wrongs perpetrated by some in the name of the Church. At the foot of the cross is a young man, on his knees, hands joined in front of a candle, a striking contrast between the bright light of innocence and the darkness of evil.

MARILYN HATTON and MOIRA COOMBS. Catholic women speak out.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuses report and its recommendations are essential for the care and protection of children and care of victims and their families. They are also important steps in preventing the perpetuation of the destructive clerical culture that produced the horrifying sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND ...

Writing in the Fairfax Press, Andrew Norton of the Grattan Institute explains the governments planned $ 2.2 billion cuts to university funding cuts they can make without going through Parliament. He explains how they will have their greatest impact on resource-intensive courses such as engineering and education, while leaving courses such as law and business largely untouched. Under the influence of more than a century of relentless advertising and commercialisation its original significance as a religious holy-day has been submerged beneath an orgy of consumerism, materialism and over-indulgence writes Ross Gittins in his Christmas message. He reminds us...

Hunger and disease haunt Rohingya refugees

'Sometimes we borrow from neighbors or we starve'

JONATHAN PILBROW. IPAN on the link between war and refugees

Human Rights Day, recently observed, is a very significant day, commemorating the UN General Assembly endorsement on 10 December 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the right to seek asylum. Human Rights Day is an important time to highlight that that wars create and exacerbate humanitarian crises and the conditions that lead to refugees, which raises critical issues about Australias continued involvement in U.S. wars.

PATTY FAWKNER SGS. Of Mary and Maya.

When we see the images of Mary and her child this Christmas, may we pause and think of Maya and the countless victims of sexual exploitation, writes Sister Patty Fawkner.

TONY DOHERTY. A Christmas reflection.

Christmas is the celebration of a story. A story told in the gospels by two storytellers - Matthew and Luke. Its a tale told and retold, and often so badly that, should the original storytellers be alive today, I could imagine them squirming.

DES CAHILL and PETER WILKINSON. Clericalism, celibacy and child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia

The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was published on 15 December 2017. Among its 409 recommendations was one which is proving controversial, namely, the introduction of voluntary celibacy for diocesan priests. There are compelling reasons why the Commission chose to urge a change to a long-held tradition.

MATTHEW FISHER. Ministers for Health in name only

Evidence on social determinants of health, health inequities and primary disease prevention and health promotion present many, currently under-utilised opportunities for Australian Government Health Ministers to genuinely be Ministers for health as well as for remedial healthcare services.

KERRY MURPHY. Retaining a cruel and punitive policy towards asylum seekers.

Recently re-elected deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce warned the New Zealand Prime Minister to back off on her offer to help resettle refugees from Manus Island and Nauru in New Zealand. His statement seemed to hint at a warning that if New Zealand continued to push this offer, it could harm bilateral relations[1]. Ironically he said they should not interfere in Australias sovereignty, regarding non Australians sent to non Australian Manus Island and independent Nauru.

KEVIN PEOPLES. An end of sorts.

There is a time for everything a time to be silent and a time to speakEcclesiastes 3:1-8 Today the Royal Commission came to an end. I feel as if I have lost a friend. It seems somehow improper to say anything. In its place endless prattle, numbers, interviews, politics. Seventeen volumes. I am left numb. There will be a time to read them. But not today.

GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND ...

In case you missed Geraldine Doogue last week on Saturday Extra, she conducted three thought-provoking interviews. First was Professor Julian Le Grand of the London School of Economics, on the possibilities of employee-led mutuals contracting to the public sector. Then Sarah Barker and Karl Mallon talked about how firms are incorporating climate risk into their financial analysis. And former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten warned about the politics of identity a political movement that savages democracy. He described how in Northern Ireland he developed practical methods to move beyond identity politics. In the Fairfax press Peter Martin explains...

JOHN MENADUE Repost of a Submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

In November 2013, together with colleagues, I made a submission to the Royal Commission on the governance and systemic problems which lead to an abuse of power in the Catholic Church. That abuse of power is not limited to sexual abuse of children. See submission reposted below:

SANITSUDA EKACHAI. Why Buddhists fail simple test of compassion

When Pope Francis avoided addressing the Rohingya genocide directly during his recent Myanmar visit, questioning his silence is missing the crux of the problem.

MATTHEW FISHER. Australia's policy failure on mental health.

Australia rates highly on international measures of physical health status such as life expectancy at birth, suggesting we are healthier than ever before, but the data on mental health and illness tells a very different story. On measures of mental health and illness we are doing poorly and compare badly to other OECD countries. Despite a large body of evidence on social determinants of metal health and illness, our policy responses are overwhelmingly dominated by individualised responses such as drug treatments, counselling and resilience programs. This unwillingness to recognise major social causes of mental illness is a national policy failure.

Jared Kushner is wreaking havoc in the Middle East

The entire Middle East, from Palestine to Yemen, appears set to burst into flames after this week. The region was already teetering on the edge, but recent events have only made things worse. And while the mayhem should be apparent to any casual observer, whats less obvious is Jared Kushners role in the chaos.

DAVID ISAACS AND ALANNA MAYCOCK. Australia is wilfully damaging the health of children on Nauru to make a point - and it is appalling.

When we visited Nauru as paediatric specialists three years ago, we were asked to see 30 of the 100 children being detained on the island. Among them was a six-year-old girl who had tried to kill herself and a two-year-old boy with such severe behaviour problems a doctor had prescribed anti-psychotic medicines. Their parents were in despair. They had fled persecution, trying to save their children from harm, but had ended up imprisoned on a remote island, without hope. We left with the view that these were the most traumatised children we had ever consulted on, far worse than children...

ANDREW GREENE. Spies need scrutiny, new NXT senator warns.

Federal Parliament lacks the power to properly monitor Australia's growing intelligence community and the billions spent on their clandestine activities, the country's newest senator has warned.

JIM COOMBS. Get a better court, eh, what?

The electors rightly regard the citizenship saga as a pile of nonsense. It did not need to be so, but the High Court was not up to its job. Worse, latter day xenophobia is being fed by the security industry to interfere with our freedoms and our capacity to deal with other nations (except the US).

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