Grace Tame, free speech and the return of political punishment
Calls to strip Grace Tame of her Australian of the Year award over her protest speech highlight a troubling slide towards political punishment and selective free speech.
Recent articles in Politics
13 February 2026
An incomparable job, an honoured place as Founder
John Menadue, and the late Susie Menadue, did an incomparable job in conceiving, establishing, growing and nurturing Pearls and Irritations as a brave and independent alternative to the conformity of Australia’s legacy media.
13 February 2026
Angus Taylor looks like a leader on paper – but the job is bigger than that
Angus Taylor has all the on-paper qualifications to be opposition leader. But what's needed now is a miracle worker to lift the struggling Liberal Party from its existential crisis.
13 February 2026
Iran’s comprehensive peace proposal to the United States
A regional peace settlement grounded in Palestinian statehood, international law and mutual security guarantees offers a real alternative to perpetual conflict.
13 February 2026
Counting protesters down – how the Adelaide protest against Herzog was reported
The Adelaide protest against the visit of Israel’s president drew thousands and passed peacefully. Yet its treatment in the media raises familiar questions about whose voices are amplified, whose are minimised, and how protest is framed for public consumption.
13 February 2026
The Epstein case: power, institutions and the question for Australia
The Jeffrey Epstein case is often treated as an exceptional crime enabled by extraordinary wealth. In reality, it reveals how institutions respond when allegations threaten powerful people – and why Australia should not assume it would act differently.
13 February 2026
Saving Meanjin is a victory – sustaining it is the real test
Meanjin’s return to Brisbane under QUT stewardship has been widely welcomed, but it also exposes deeper tensions about arts funding, cultural value and what sustainability really means for literary journals.
12 February 2026
Is Hanson planning to copy Trump on mass deportation?
One Nation’s promise to deport 75,000 undocumented migrants echoes Donald Trump’s approach, but the logistics, costs and risks of such a policy are far greater than the rhetoric suggests.
12 February 2026
Message from the Editor-in-Chief
Pearls and Irritations is entering a new phase, with Editor-in-Chief John Menadue stepping back from day-to-day leadership and new appointments strengthening our future.
12 February 2026
Do we really need a Minister for Social Cohesion?
Calls for a new Minister for Social Cohesion reflect anxiety about Australia’s civic health, but risk mistaking rhetorical panic for structural failure – and policy symbolism for effective governance.
12 February 2026
From protest laws to writers’ festivals – Chris Minns overreaches
From protest laws to public commentary on writers and festivals, the NSW premier’s interventions reveal a troubling impatience with dissent and democratic restraint.
12 February 2026
Japan's dramatic election result carries dangers
Japan’s ruling party has secured another overwhelming victory. But beneath the spectacle lies a troubling mix of demographic denial, fiscal illusion and rising geopolitical risk.
12 February 2026
If the roles were reversed, how would the west react?
What would western outrage look like if China, rather than the United States, had carried out decades of military interventions and political interference?
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