Politics
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Election to be called for May 3 – message from the editor
With the news that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will make the trip to Government House early today, and the election will be called for May 3, Pearls and Irritations begins its election coverage. Continue reading »
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Why voting in a fact-checking void should worry you
Australian voters heading to the polls need to be aware there’s little standing between them and potential manipulation of information by vested interests. Continue reading »
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Ivy League convulsions – will we be next?
The shock waves continue from Columbia University’s capitulation to Trump administration demands that undermine its independence. The world is watching and waves are already crashing on Australia’s shores. Continue reading »
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Are we losing the battle against urban development on floodplains?
After two recent bouts of flooding already this year in Far North Queensland and more in the south-east of the state and in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, the perennial matter of our use of floodplains is in the news once more. Specifically, the issue of building houses on flood-liable land has come Continue reading »
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The PBS is under fire from US drug giants. There’s not much they can do
The drug companies have bought both American political parties. They have not bought Australia. Continue reading »
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Gove and the native title revolution
The High Court’s judgment in March 2025 in favour of the Gumatj people has reaffirmed the centrality of the Indigenous peoples of Gove in the Northern Territory in the native title revolution that was conceived in a case against mining company, Nabalco Ltd, in the 1960s and continued with the High Court’s Mabo and Wik Continue reading »
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Behind Australia’s antisemitism hoax
Australia’s recent wave of political scaremongering and hyperbolic reporting about antisemitic attacks on Jewish schools, synagogues, businesses and a day care centre has finally subsided, but its impact is still being eagerly exploited by right-wing media outlets, pro-Israel lobby groups and politicians of all stripes. Continue reading »
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Who’s really the boss? Taking back control of government
I know it’s an absurd thought, but in this absurd world, what’s wrong with dreaming. If we the taxpayers, are the ones funding the salaries of politicians and public officials, doesn’t that make us their employers? And if we are their employers, shouldn’t we have the power to hold them accountable for their performance? Continue reading »
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A cautious responsible budget
Labor’s pre-election budget provides well-targeted cost of living relief within the bounds of responsibility, but the restoration of living standards is some way off. Continue reading »
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The 2025-26 budget had one modest surprise, but leaves a lot to the next Parliament (and probably Parliaments after that)
Treasurer Jim Chalmers pulled one unexpected rabbit out of his hat in Tuesday’s 2025-26 federal budget. Continue reading »
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The government is timid, uninspired and uninspiring. This budget fits it perfectly
If you’re having trouble working up much interest in the budget, don’t feel bad. It’s not you, it’s the government. So much fuss is made about the annual federal budget that we expect it to be full of major announcements. Well, not this one, and not from a government that never wants to rock the Continue reading »
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Great power diplomacy in the era of Trump 2.0
With Trump in the White House, geopolitics has returned to the realm of great power relations. Continue reading »
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Budgets: black holes, black ink or black magic? – part 2 of 2
In part 1 of this two-part series I gave a brief overview of the contemporary mainstream attitude to central government budgets, and argued that the constant fear of inflation in the post-1970s era has a lot to do with the dominant theory. But this mainstream view is strongly contested within the economics profession. Continue reading »
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The fundamental problem at the heart of defence policy
The noise over meeting US demands on military spending underlines the fundamental problem at the heart of Australian defence policy: there is no strategy. Continue reading »
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Hurry up and wait
One principle of American military affairs has been said since the 1940s to be “hurry up and wait”. That certainly applies to AUKUS, an agreement so urgent that in September 2021 Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese only 24 hours to agree to it. Continue reading »
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The return of the zombie in South Korea
Han Duck-soo, the impeached South Korean Prime minister (and former acting president), has just had his impeachment reversed, and is now acting president again. Continue reading »
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The last chapter of the genocide
Israel has begun the final stage of its genocide. The Palestinians will be forced to choose between death or deportation. There are no other options. Continue reading »
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There is no way in which China is a threat to Australia or even the US
Pearls and Irritations editor-in-chief John Menadue talks to Pascal Lottez of Neutrality Studies about Western misconceptions of China and the narrative that has led to a very poor understanding of the biggest power in Asia. Continue reading »
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Budgets: black holes, black ink or black magic? Part 1 of 2
The Rockliff Government’s financial mess in Tasmania has been well explained by economist Saul Eslake, independent MLC Ruth Forrest, and others paying attention. Continue reading »
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More than a human can bear
Two weeks ago, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel published a report, “More than a human can bear”: Israel’s systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since 7 October 2023. Continue reading »
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Despite being backstabbed by the US, Australia may not be permitted to ditch AUKUS
Since the Trump administration took the reins in the United States and its actions have heralded in a bold new uncertain order, long-term calls for Australia to pull out of AUKUS have been gaining traction. Yet, a recent development in the Northern Territory suggests that, as the US now operates of its accord on this Continue reading »
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Restoring tax equity for the low-paid should be an election issue
The critical issue in the May 2025 election is likely to be about the rising costs of living, with competing views about whether the Labor Party is responsible for them and which of the major parties is most likely to address them. Continue reading »
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It’s official – supermarkets are overcharging. Quick, change the subject
Why does a government release a highly critical report on the conduct of Woolworths and Coles on the Friday before a budget that will lead straight into an election campaign? Short answer: not for any worthy reason. Continue reading »
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No such ceasefire
As the latest ceasefire has predictably ended, will the world start taking notice of the Palestinians again? There’s been a stark absence of coverage in mainstream media of the ongoing decimation of Gaza and the West Bank. I imagine the average citizen believes it’s all okay now, the onslaught has ended and there’s nothing more Continue reading »
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Devaluing Australian citizenship
Public commentary on Peter Dutton’s possible referendum on a ministerial discretion to deprive dual nationals of their Australian citizenship has focused on whether or not this is just a thought bubble and whether or not it is politically wise to be holding yet another referendum. The real issue goes much deeper, to the merits of Continue reading »
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We can’t unscramble the AUKUS and ANZUS eggs
Before this election is much older, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are going to have to determine where they stand on all the important issues. There’s a substantial chance that both are wrongly positioned and that each might have to face the other way, or perish politically. It’s not for an argument about which vista Continue reading »
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Voters starting to turn away from Dutton as the election nears
There are signs that voters are turning towards Albanese and Labor and away from Dutton and the Coalition. Continue reading »
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The science of being absolutely wrong
Scientists, who generally wear white laboratory jackets so they are not confused with economists, have a canon of sacred texts. Pride of place is occupied by the journal Nature, which is now a collection of specialised magazines that cover scientific advances in most measurable phenomena. Of course, trades and professions also have their stable of Continue reading »
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‘Never happened before’: WMO finds past 10 years have been 10 hottest on record
“While a single year above 1.5°C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call,” wrote the secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation. Continue reading »
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What the polls are and aren’t telling us
Political junkies and the media are obsessed with opinion polls on the relative standings of the political parties. Movements within standard statistical margins of error are treated with great respect. Continue reading »
