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.

Over the 5 weeks of the campaign, leading up to the poll, we will bring you nuanced pieces, with a view to the important issues, election related and not. We will not ignore the theatrics that are a part of any campaign but will also focus on important matters that are not being talked about, and the seismic global issues that continue to swirl around us.

Declining trust in politics and parliamentary process, and what communities are doing to counter this and provide solutions, will be a focus.

We will be calling on our powerful network of authors to harness their hard-earned understanding of the Australian system, to help us intelligently navigate the choices that await us at the ballot box.

Our first story, reminds us that this is the only federal election since 2013 that will be without the ABC RMIT Fact Check unit. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence, and deep fakes, mean that the potential for carefully curated misinformation is bigger than ever. You can be assured that Pearls and Irritations will bring you the best, reliable, evidence-informed stories.

Catriona Jackson Editor, Pearls and Irritations