September 13, 2023

Business should serve, not enslave

It is time for government to get the suits back under control and manage the economy for the benefit of us all.

July 7, 2023

Australia scores zero for taking action to protect our health from climate change

Climate change poses major threats to the health of all people globally. Australia has been slow to recognise this. In an assessment of the health-related content of 58 nations’ plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, Australia scored zero.

November 26, 2020

Remembering the financial brilliance of James Wolfensohn

At a time when Australia is desperately trying to push one of our own to lead a world economic forum, its worth remembering James Wolfensohn, our most influential global financial figure.

January 6, 2019

ALLAN PATIENCE. Teaching as a vocation.

Good teachers are equal to good parents in any civilized society. They are infinitely more important than politicians, civil servants, professionals, business people, media commentators, celebrities and sports stars all put together. (Good nurses come a very close second.) Yet they remain among the least valued, respected and rewarded for the amazingly vital work they perform. While concern about the quality of students enrolling in teacher education programs in our universities is warranted, its time to address the low status accorded the teaching profession. It also means asking some searching questions about how up-and-coming teachers are being taught in universities.

September 12, 2024

How democratic are the Western democracies?

The disinterested observer might be perplexed by the righteous posing of political leaders in democracies and be left wondering just exactly what is this precious bundle of “values” to which authoritarians are a threat.

July 18, 2024

Productivity, innovation and industrial structure

The traditional market model of comparative advantage denies Australia the more promising strategic opportunity to identify and capitalise on areas of potential competitive advantage in the high productivity, high-skill jobs and industries of the future, including advanced manufacturing. Instead, with this model we will be locked into low-productivity, low-wage industries, with limited scope for uplift through technological change and innovation, writes Emeritus Professor Roy Green AM.

May 7, 2024

The hospital at the bottom of the DV cliff

A sense of crisis now pervades discussion of what to do about violence against women, made obvious by recent marches demanding action, statistics suggesting that the rate of fatal attacks is increasing, and general unease after several knife attacks in Sydney, in one of which women represented five of the six victims.

May 25, 2023

The Voice is a "mirror to Australia"

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a mirror to Australia saying, Look how much weve already done as a nation. Its just time to bring it home.

Professor Megan Davis, John Menadue Oration, 2020

May 4, 2023

The 'Ugly Aussies' rubbishing our reputation in Indonesia

Heres a rough guide to Westerners visiting Indonesia.

May 13, 2022

Do we continue down the pathway of privatisation of health by stealth?

Loss of public funding for specific aspects of health care despite overall (public and private) increases in expenditure, as detailed recently by John Menadue, has already happened out of sight.

June 14, 2021

Australia's infrastructure plans: why can't we get it right? Thorough inquiries are needed.

Recent reports confirm severe problems with plans for transport infrastructure in at least Australias two biggest cities. The Commonwealth, as well as State Governments, is blameworthy.

August 31, 2024

Anwar stands his ground on foreign policy – Asian Media Report

In Asian media this week: Malaysian PM ignores Western critics. Plus: deadly attacks in impoverished Pakistan province; Myanmar trafficking syndicates now a global monster; Chinese spy-plane violates Japan’s air space; Zelenskyy plans peace summit in Global South; chance for Harris to change course on China.

August 11, 2024

A fiercely independent, independent media

“I really value P & I, for its individualistic and thoughtful commentary at this difficult time - and its provision of a platform to experienced commentators with no connection to business or political bias. I do not subscribe or buy mainstream newspapers”.

August 31, 2023

Pearls and Irritations: A dissident challenge to the West's narrative control

Pearls and Irritations has been a source of enlightenment since its foundation in 2013. It has progressively increased in importance.

August 8, 2022

The ALP and the Israeli occupation of Palestine

Quo vadis the new government.

April 15, 2022

Stumbles and fictions: The Australian election campaign begins

That a figure like Scott Morrison comes across as competent, able and free of imbecility after a day of electioneering in Australia suggests a broader sickness in politics.

June 22, 2024

Malaysia, Thailand ready to join BRICS - Asian Media Report

In Asian media this week: Anwar slams ‘insane’ US over Gaza. Plus: Putin, Kim reduce dependence on Beijing; Where child brides are considered normal; India prosecutes Arundhati Roy for Kashmir speech; American arms-makers struggle to match China; Big cities become lethal heat traps.

June 7, 2024

Western decline: Denial and anger at China’s vitality

In her work, ‘On Death and Dying’ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross wrote of the stages one goes through on being told one is dying. She called these ‘Five Stages of Grief,’ of adjusting to reality: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

May 24, 2024

Rules show how not to win friends and influence people

The ABC is running jolly programmes on and for the Pacific as part of a government policy to counter Chinese influence. But in a closer, bigger and more important region already eyed by Beijing the national broadcaster and its paymaster offer indifference and ignorance. Or is that arrogance?

September 28, 2023

Threat to democracy: The case for sacking Tange and Pezzullo

A good case exists for sacking the head of the Home Affairs department Michael Pezzullo for taking sides in internal political party matters among other activities, as recently reported by the Nine media group. There is an even stronger case that Sir Arthur Tange, the head of the Defence department should have been sacked in the 1970s.

July 16, 2023

New age policy for sole parents

At the heart of setting the age of the qualifying child for Parenting Payment (PP) is the question: when should a sole parent cease to be treated as a person whose primary responsibility is to care for children and more like a person seeking paid work? Sole parents are, due to the absence of a partner, responsible for both caregiving and earning income.

June 6, 2023

Big business cries poor on wages even as profits mount

Dont believe anyone not even a governor of the Reserve Bank trying to tell you the Fair Work Commissions decision to increase minimum award wages by 5.75 per cent is anything other than good news for the lowest-paid quarter of wage earners.

April 23, 2023

The education challenge facing Labor

On any measure since the mid 1980s successive governments both Federal and State have progressively destroyed public education systems.

June 24, 2021

China seeks client states not ideological conquests

Australia came away from the G7 meeting in Cornwall comforted by the support of others. But joint statements tend elegantly to fudge differences and do not absolve us from reaching our own conclusions and crafting our own strategies.

February 27, 2021

Snow storms in North America and Europe: real-time consequences of climate change

Snow storms in North America and Europe may give the impression that global cooling is taking place. Nothing is further from the truth. The cooling is a consequence of the weakening of the Arctic jet stream boundary, allowing freezing air masses to flow out of the Arctic circle.

April 10, 2024

Commercial lobbying - an abrogation of democracy?

Lobbying has been part of politics for the past two millennia, but in the past twenty years it has become an artform in persuasion and influence. At times it is scarcely possible to distinguish the elected representatives from unelected politicians. It seems now that a political career is not just election to a parliament, but involves three consecutive components: initial work as a ministerial staffer, election to a safe seat and retirement into work as a consultant or lobbyist.

September 27, 2023

Fouling the APS nest

Geoff Pryor on Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs Mike Pezzullo’s unique relationship with the Australian Public Service.

June 16, 2023

Grim Reaper is catching up with the Baby Boomers, waving bills

Having witnessed the last days of my parents and in-laws, I dont delude myself as they did that Ill be able to avoid being carted off to an old peoples home. Sorry, an aged care residential facility.

April 12, 2021

Ministerial staff cant be strangled but they can be leashed

It is probably too late to throw partisans out of ministerial offices, or even to strangle the triennial increase in the number of ministerial staff, whether or not they are to be subjected to ordinary rules of civility and respect for each other. But it is not too late to set some enforceable public standards of minder behaviour and public accountability to force them into the light.

March 2, 2021

The Year of the Ox more productive than Year of the Rat, but reset in Australia-China relations still unlikely

Oxen are more useful to humanity than rats. Here’s hoping that the year of the ox, which started on 12 February, will be better than the year of the rat. But, in terms of Chinas relations with the West, and specifically Australia, it hasnt started well. Several factors, especially differing concepts of human rights and the near-collapse of educational exchange are keeping the toxic atmosphere of 2020 very much alive.

January 9, 2021

The long history of colonialism by both the UK and the US.

_The New Cold War with respect to China points to an even more serious conflict than the one with Russia, since it involves a direct challenge to U.S. hegemony over the world economy.

April 15, 2024

TAFE shutting the door on the battlers

Recent figures show that around 30% of Australian school children do not have adequate reading skills. This 30% of Australian school children need vocational knowledge and skills to find a productive place in Australian life, but some will have their reading tested by TAFE then told, without a hint of irony, “You need to go back to school”.

July 12, 2023

The Voice and the problem of race

Defeat for the Voice referendum will reverberate internationally. Surviving suspicions about our racist past will be refreshed. It will come at the same time as our renewed embrace of our forever friends in Britain and the United States and our growing enthusiasm for closer ties with NATO.

May 17, 2023

Dan Andrews and Murdoch crying wolf

Rupert Murdoch has done incalculable harm to the democratic experiment throughout the AUKUS nations and beyond. In Victoria, his propaganda campaigns have made him the magnate who cried wolf. The states integrity infrastructure is in perilous condition but Newscorps constant invective against Labor governments, and Premier Dan Andrews government in particular, has made it more difficult to fix.

May 15, 2023

The Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, should speak out

The Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS) stands firmly against the extra-judicial killings of militants by Israel and the high number of civilian casualties- including children in Gaza. This adds to what the AJDS has been saying for many years with respect to Israels disastrous relationship with the people and government of Gaza.

April 9, 2023

Perpetuating a myth about the source of the teals vote

In the wake of the Aston by-election and, more importantly, last years federal election, the Liberal Party could easily be misled into dismissing the teals as a sneaky Labor/Greens front.

August 22, 2021

Full time in Afghanistan. The captains and the kings have departed- again.

And theres the final whistle! What a disappointment for team USA. They began superbly, bigger, fitter and stronger, and made some lovely attacking moves. In the opening stanza, they sliced the opposition defence to ribbons. All around me the crowd was on their feet, roaring their team on, confident this was going to be a slaughter. It was an odd game, being played without a referee, but a ref would have just slowed things down.

September 16, 2024

The man from Bethlehem and the dangers of hypocrisy

In population terms, the deaths in Gaza since 7 October would be equivalent to killing about one million Australians.

June 20, 2024

Australia must prize, not demonise China capability

China expertise – including that of our huge Chinese diaspora – has increasingly become a source of suspicion. China scholar Angela Lehmann offers three policy responses to promote Australia’s capability to engage with our biggest trading partner.

June 15, 2024

Premier Li's Visit to Australia: A hostage rescue mission

As hard as this might be for some Australians to accept, China isn’t a threat to the economy, it’s a lifeline, perhaps even a hostage rescue.

June 9, 2024

‘We’re all trained to be good obedient children, but what do you want?’ Delving into the inner lives of women in neoliberal China

Yuan Yang is what migration academics call a “ 1.5 generation migrant” – meaning she was born in her country of origin and then migrated to another country as a child.

May 28, 2024

Our quality of life under threat from the meanness of politicians

Why do politicians and businesspeople of this nation continually pretend that the nation is on the ropes? The average income of most citizens and the average wealth has, in real terms, never been higher. Yet this is a nation which has heavily cut back on foreign aid and has been disinvesting in real terms in the quality of healthcare, education, and culture, all in the name of an austerity said to be demanded by our excesses. Meanwhile, enormous sums have been diverted to defence schemes, and to antagonising our closest trading partner, China.

May 18, 2024

Winning some, losing more: the price conservatives pay to “double down”

Doubling down is a term used to describe a high-risk manoeuvre that blackjack players make when they decide to double their potential losses to receive just one card from the deck. In conservative politics it’s a move typically made to send a signal to political associates and supporters that despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, all is well.

May 13, 2024

Vast inequality threatens democracy

The disparity is vast and immoral. Emotional language touches souls, but in Indonesia it should also grab economics and politics. The new government could demand reform. It wont.

July 31, 2023

Flesh and bones on the corruption menu

Spare a thought for the National Anti-Corruption Committee which has so many juicy cases before it that there is a substantial chance that it might have to pass on investigating some of the serious sources of potential corruption around the nation.

June 14, 2023

The corporate-government power nexus

Mass surveillance and manipulation should not be allowed to become the new normal.

September 12, 2021

If the PM is serious about reducing gas prices, he needs to address price fixing

The government should explain to taxpayers just how its gas policy will make energy more affordable and how employment will be created.

June 30, 2021

The "problem" with boat people

Why have successive governments shown disdain for refugees who come by boat? Kim Huynh contrasts the welcome he enjoyed 40 years ago with the hostility now confonting boat people.

May 3, 2021

Biden's speech to Congress - read his lips!

President Bidens first address to Congress has provided a substantive and timely window into his ambitions for his term of office, but also the ideology which is driving him. Its central theme was Were in competition with China and other countries to win the 21st Century.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal