October 13, 2023

Israels vengeance will not make for a better world

The depressing, crushing spectacle of extreme violence and mayhem unleashed across Israel and Palestine over recent days is a reminder of the depths to which humanity can sink.

January 10, 2023

Reduce consumption, or face reality of civilisational collapse

An important debate is developing in Pearls and Irritations on the need to reduce consumption. In his article Labors Environmental Denialism, Stephen Williams acknowledged several positive steps being taken by the Labor government to help protect the environment, and then argued that Labor was failing to address the fundamental drivers of environmental disaster, which he identified as growth in the economy and population.

December 16, 2022

We are facing the most dangerous crisis humanity has seen

Last Tuesday, I was released on bail pending appeal in March. While my sentence is outrageous - as are the anti-democratic laws that allowed it to happen - I urge you not to lose sight of the reason I was jailed. Our way of life is under threat from the greatest, most dangerous crisis humanity has ever seen. Each of you must act now.

October 18, 2022

The flaws and fantasies of the new Biden doctrine

_The US presidents new National Security Strategy is ambitious and delusional about Americas role in the world.

October 11, 2022

Startling events at the Australian War Memorial

Small but significant metaphorical explosions have reverberated recently around the building that some Australians know as our most sacred site.

March 29, 2022

The Coalition's latest environmental fraud supported by Murdoch Media again. No surprise there!

_If no one has noticed a central pillar of Australias risibly inadequate GHG reduction commitment of 26-28% by 2030 has recently been demolished by our own scientists.

February 27, 2022

Deputy sheriffs, deluded diggers and 'the dirty work of empire'.

Few peoples define themselves through their military history more stridently than Australians. The truth, though, is that our military history primarily is one of imperial subservience, self-delusion and denial.

January 27, 2022

'Let it rip' mentality underlies Australia's cruelest policy failures

Australias Covid let it rip mentality is deeply ingrained in the nations past and, through climate and environmental inaction, is driving a larger peril.

January 13, 2022

Zoned out: how land use restrictions divide the nation

_Housing policies ensure continual wealth gains for current home owners while leaving renters and potential buyers locked out of the market.

January 8, 2022

A cold war that just keeps on keeping on

It is now 30 years since the USSR ceased to be. The end of the Cold War was to herald an era of peace, harmony and the end of history. Instead, we have wars, inequality, economic crisis, climate catastrophe and pandemic._

December 22, 2021

'Freedom from government' has become a gamble with our lives

Morrison is always scheming for political advantage, and he rode the wave of anti-vax and anti-lockdown rebellion cynically, until Omicron hit us.

December 4, 2021

Sunday environmental round up.

Coal region residents want economic transition. Plastic becoming a significant producer of CO2. Illegal logging and fishing in Myanmar and Mexico.

November 2, 2021

Stupid or cynical? How our leaders contribute to climate crisis

Effective leadership on climate change is in short supply. Are our leaders too stupid or too cynical to respond to the world’s greatest problem?

October 26, 2021

The alliance at the heart of Australia Part 4

Australia’s dependence on the United States is rooted in its anxieties about being a small, settler-colonial states.

July 31, 2021

Resisting repression: defending civil liberties in Australia

_The most effective way to challenge Australias repressive laws and practices is not obvious. There are many possibilities. No doubt some initiatives will fall flat while others will be too risky for a few leaders. The challenge is to figure out and implement a campaign that enables a great many people to join a cause whose justice cannot be denied.

February 1, 2025

Scholasticide, academic complicity, and institutional betrayal

`It may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as `scholasticide’ - UN OHCHR.

January 31, 2025

To the PM: The costs of our gullibility and ignorance re Syria

The letter below was sent to Prime Minister Albanese on 24 January 2025. In it, I refer to the abduction of Professor Rasha Al-Ali from the University of Homs. Reports indicate that Dr Al-Ali’s body has been found and that - either before or after her murder - her fingers were cut off. Her abduction and killing is reminiscent of _Margaret Hassan's_, who was head of CARE in Baghdad.

December 23, 2024

Reframing wealth: A stark disconnect between wealth and poverty

Australia is often celebrated as a wealthy nation, with a prosperity that is purportedly shared across its population. However, such assertions crumble under scrutiny. According to the 2021 census, 122,494 Australians were denied the basic right of shelter due to their inability to afford housing. This stark reality reveals the vast and growing chasm between the affluent and the impoverished.

October 23, 2024

'Tis the voice of the lobster: reflections on Australia-China trade

Exports to China were worth over $700 million in 2019. Trade barriers were imposed by China following Scott Morrison’s call for an enquiry into the origin of Covid, putting an end to direct trade in this commodity. Last week PM Albanese announced the imminent lifting of restrictions by the end of the year and credited the improvement of bilateral relations. Things however are a little more fishy.

March 14, 2024

Bidens plan for sea-borne aid to Gaza is incredibly stupid

March 7, Evening, Washington D.C. : Joe Biden announces an incredible plan to provide a route for aid into Gaza, with no American boots on the ground.

February 28, 2024

Submarines, stealth and STEM stifling any AUKUS debate

The Australian government has decided to ignore critics of Aukus in parliament and the community. Rather it has moved to embed the idea of Aukus directly into the Australian psyche.

December 14, 2023

Putin exposed China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang for allegedly leaking military secrets to US

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, Putin disclosed to Xi that former Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang played a role in the leak of Chinas missile secrets to the US, Asia Sentinel learned from several sources. Qin was sacked as foreign minister on July 25, Asia Sentinel reported. On October 24, Xi personally gave an order to remove Qin as state councillor, a post in the Chinese government equivalent to minister, and dismiss Li Shangfu as defense minister and state councillor. The prolonged disappearance of the former Chinese foreign minister has fuelled suspicions of his execution for treason.

December 5, 2023

Solving the Israel-Palestine conflict and why it wont happen

At the very core of the Israel-Palestine conflict are Israels illegal occupation of the West Bank and immoral siege with the help of Egypt of Gaza.

November 7, 2023

China's removal of tariffs on Australian wine: Is it what it seems?

Chinas offer to negotiate the removal of its tariffs on imports of Australian wine is seen by many as a generous act to facilitate the current visit by the Prime Minister.

March 16, 2023

Taiwan to the rescue

Regular readers of this journal will be dismayed at the breakneck speed at which Australia is party to the goading of a potentially catastrophic war in our region. With Western mainstream media in anti-China mad dog mode, both sides of the aisle in Canberra sleepwalking, and with nothing at all to win and everything to lose, it seems the only ones who can save us from ourselves are the Taiwanese.

January 28, 2023

An Australia Day worth celebrating how might we do it?

As is now usual around Australia Day, commentators from all sides of the argument weigh in to suggest new dates on which we might celebrate the founding of the nation. Henry Reynolds, for instance, has made a case for not celebrating on 26 January and in response in these pages David Havyatt has wondered whether we need a national day at all. So questions are arising here: do we need an Australia Day and if so when should it be?

December 12, 2022

Alleged police sabotage of the Bruce Lehrmann rape prosecution demands proper investigation

The inquiry into alleged police sabotage of the Bruce Lehrmann rape prosecution has the capacity to bring the Australian Federal Police into the biggest crisis of its 43 years, with impacts spreading beyond the contract arrangements by which it delivers policing services to the ACT.

December 11, 2022

A story of how the market gods failed TAFE and what needs to be done

At both federal and state levels, the Market Gods Cult has failed to deliver. Its been a tragic waste of human and economic potential. Its time to resort to rationality in our TAFE arrangements.

November 8, 2022

Australias frontier economy culture threatens opportunity and growth

John Menadue has written two insightful articles on the $530 billion infrastructure scandal. The documented account of waste and misallocation is deeply concerning not only on its own terms but also as the root cause of an even bigger problem in public sector resource allocation. It is a story of a missed opportunity and commitment to grow Australia as an advanced knowledge-based economy.

November 5, 2022

Environment: Greenhouse gases same old winners, same old losers

Whitehaven Coal is selling more coal and making record profits and (apparently) helping countries reduce their emissions. Rich nations should cancel developing nations debt to help them cope with climate change.

March 16, 2022

What is the point of taxpayer funding of private schools?

The growth in private schooling has long been accompanied by declining overall levels of student achievement, hence the why question is long overdue.

March 2, 2022

Humanity: sinking into a stagnant ocean

“We were the first that ever burst into that silent sea.” _STColeridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner

February 26, 2022

How many refugees will drown at Bhasan Char in Bangladesh?

_Over 20,000 Rohingya refugees have been recently moved to Bhasan Char, and are at risk of drowning.

February 20, 2022

The Ukraine crisis could trigger a nuclear catastrophe

_There are two potential nuclear dimensions to a war in Ukraine, which could create a massive humanitarian disaster and have profound global implications.

January 4, 2022

Change the White supremacist narrative: a blueprint for a better world

Christine Loh reviews Dismantling Global White Privilege Equity for a Post Western World by Chandran Nair.

December 15, 2021

Government chooses 'jobs and growth' over peace with defence spending

Militarisation has become a means of promoting economic welfare, and the ‘defence industry hub’ in Geelong is just the latest such project.

December 10, 2021

Who is the real winner from AUKUS? It's not Australia

Britain is the greatest beneficiary of the nuclear submarine deal for an array of reasons the gains for the US are minor while the benefits for Australia are debatable.

October 18, 2021

Enjoying Hong Kong and denying the crackdown, with a colonial face

Life might go on as usual for expats, but for native Hong Kongers, the new security law is having a real effect on their freedoms.

March 5, 2025

Peter Slezak's Gaza rally speech: 'We face one of the greatest moral tests of our time'

Together with many Jews here and around the world, I’m proud to stand with you once again in solidarity with Palestine. On this occasion, I want to talk about the growing hysteria about antisemitism.

January 21, 2025

Summing up

The world and its people are facing very serious local and global emergencies. Climate change, economic instability, limits to free speech, threats to independent media and increasing social in__equality all signal the breakdown of democratic systems across the world. The genocide in Gaza and the war in Ukraine are ongoing. Our political institutions and leaders are failing us with increasingly conservative policies that favour big business.

March 31, 2024

Why are Chinese backpackers required to sit an English Test while Taiwanese backpackers are not?

It’s well past time that Australia’s English language requirements for working holiday visas was addressed and applied consistently for young people in all countries.

January 27, 2024

Has capitalism failed?

Anyone who thinks so is just plain dumb. It has obviously been stunningly successful. It has produced huge increases in wealth, for instance in the last few years the three richest people in Australia doubled their wealth. It has worked like a dream. The trouble is that it does not and is not designed to work for you. It works for the rich, not you.

November 30, 2023

Coalition politicians are embracing far right Orbanist ideology

Tony Abbott added two new posts to his resume this month, debuting as Fox director and announced to be joining the Danube Institute team as a guest lecturer. Add these to the October news that Abbott is now an Advisory Board member of the far-right Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC). Australians should be watching.

December 14, 2022

Secure Work Act: Dont expect a surge in wages too soon

Will the new Secure Work Act lead to a resurgence of wages growth?

November 6, 2022

(Un)common sense in the National Electricity Market grid design

In a recent (21 October) edition of Pearls and Irritations, Roger Beale suggested (amongst other things) that the Commonwealth should seize sole control of the national electricity market (the NEM) to bring stability to the energy transition and stop the states going their own way.

March 24, 2022

Few aged care facilities deliver high quality care while also making a profit

_Just 4% of for-profit providerswere in the highest quality tier.

November 15, 2021

Beauty rich and rare: lockdowns could renew our connection with nature

The separation of humans from nature is a major factor in the planet’s ecological challenges, but the COVID-19 pandemic might shift our thinking.

October 31, 2021

Our new Covid reality leaves the vulnerable living in fear

While many celebrate the economy opening up, it threatens to have a damaging impact on Aboriginal communities and on part-time and casual workers.

March 13, 2025

Minority government – a problem of the current electoral system

In a recent lengthy article in Inside Story, Brett Evans discusses a credible Teal threat to the Liberals in Sydney’s Bradfield seat and raises the question: would minority government be so bad?

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal