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.
Recent articles in Commendations
11 December 2025
Why Pearls and Irritations matters – Eugene Doyle
Long-time contributor Eugene Doyle reflects on Pearls and Irritations as an open-ended think tank and calls on readers to support independent policy debate into 2026.
3 December 2025
Expert independent evidence-based assessment
This month we are asking readers to support our work through a tax deductible donation via the Australian Cultural Fund. Regular author, Michael Keating writes about the value of Pearls and Irritations.
4 November 2025
A tribute to Ali Kazak
I had the privilege, together with the late Frans Timmerman, of working with Ali a good deal from the mid-1970s till the mid-1990s in producing the newspaper/magazine Free Palestine, and as national secretary of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign for a decade.
18 October 2025
Keating pays tribute to former NZ leader Jim Bolger
It was sad for me to learn of Jim Bolger’s death.
22 September 2024
What our donors have told us
I have such admiration for Pearls and Irritations. Thanks so much. Unfortunately my donation can't match my admiration. Anonymous
6 September 2024
Pearl or Irritation? The Kantian imperative and the case for dissent
The Pearls and Irritations platform, with its commitment to fact-driven critique, exemplifies dissent as a profound act of civic engagement. Immanuel Kant, the renowned Enlightenment philosopher, offered a powerful defence of this kind of loyal, evidence-based dissent.
27 August 2024
Authors who write with insight and experience
I read the daily Pearls and Irritations email without fail.
14 August 2024
An exploratory platform for thinkers and analysts
John Menadue’s website adds real value across all aspects of Australia’s governance and policy development.
8 August 2021
Barry Jones speech for the Monash Medal at the Rotary Club of Melbourne 4.8.2021
The soldiers had to have a representative hero who was a volunteer; he was acceptable to the community as a seemingly unpretentious outsider, not really part of the Establishment. His commanding intellect was sensed as well as his basic honesty and decency. He was one tall poppy who was never cut down.
30 May 2020
JENNY HOCKING supports Pearls and Irritations.
I am a long-time reader, contributor and supporter of Pearls & Irritations.
16 May 2020
STEPHEN DUCKETT supports Pearls and Irritations.
I am both a daily reader of, and a contributor to John Menadue’s Pearls & Irritations.
4 May 2020
SUSAN RYAN supports Pearls and Irritations.
Anyone who wants to keep up with policy developments, both failures and successes, cannot rely on mainstream media.