September 27, 2025

The fish rots from the head

What we in the West are observing, some with equanimity others with revulsion, is the failure of the Western form of governance that we have so long held up to the rest of the world as the pinnacle of human achievement in national and international governance.

September 18, 2025

A smart productivity play: Stop subsidising loss-making native forest logging

On 7 September 2025, NSW set the proposed 476,000-hectare boundary for the Great Koala National Park and halted native-forest logging within it (plantation harvesting continues), with formal gazettal slated for 2026.

April 15, 2025

How Trump’s tariffs will affect Pacific islands

Most Pacific island countries got off relatively lightly when Donald Trump announced his “reciprocal” tariffs. Ten were levied tariffs of 10%, the minimum handed out. (Timor-Leste also got a 10% tariff.) Three Pacific nations were given higher rates: Vanuatu (23%), Nauru (30%) and Fiji (32%).

September 14, 2025

A lament for Meanjin

For more than 80 years, Meanjin has been a quiet but powerful enabler of Australian literature. It required a mere pittance to keep it alive.

July 3, 2025

Trump’s worldview is causing a global shift of alliances – what does this mean for nations in the middle?

Since US President Donald Trump took office this year, one theme has come up time and again: his rule is a threat to the US-led international order.

June 12, 2025

Now AI can imitate a deceased loved one. Should it?

As another anniversary of my husband’s death approaches, I’ve been wondering if I want AI to “resurrect” him.

September 6, 2025

Palestinian memory: Between ink and blood

Imagine if every pen in Gaza stopped moving, every victim’s voice faded into silence, and every image was erased from collective memory.

July 30, 2025

'Unequivocal': Israeli human rights orgs describe Gaza assault as 'genocide' for the first time

“Genocide is never supposed to happen,” said the executive director of B’Tselem, one of Israel’s leading human rights groups. “Not here. Not anywhere. Not at all.”

May 9, 2025

Danger: Global security is now in the hands of Trump, Rubio and Hegseth

The United States is a national security state. Over the past half-century, it has unnecessarily conducted “forever wars” in Vietnam (1960s-1970s), Iraq (2000s-the present), Afghanistan (2000s-2020), and now possibly in Yemen.

September 19, 2025

Flawed Hero, flawed decision: The War Memorial’s institutional cowardice

The Australian War Memorial remains one of Australia’s most cherished national institutions, attracting a million visitors, mainly tourists, to Canberra each year.

July 22, 2025

Pope demands 'Immediate Halt to the Barbarity' of Israel's war on Gaza

Pope Leo XIV said the Israeli military’s deadly attack on Gaza’s sole Catholic Church was “just one of the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship” in the Palestinian enclave.

April 25, 2025

Federal election: When it comes to the ocean, where is the contest?

A recent ABC story announced “Federal parties compete on marine protection”. But are they really competing? So far, neither of the two major parties has said anything about ocean protection.

September 9, 2025

The Liberal Party and Israel

The Liberal Party is correct in claiming Australia’s relations with Israel are at their lowest point ever. The real questions to be asked are: who is responsible, and how much does it matter?

July 7, 2025

The Rainbow Warrior 1985-2025: French state terrorism and the end of innocence Part 1

Immediately after murdering Fernando Pereira and blowing up Greenpeace’s ship the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour, several of the French agents went on a ski holiday in New Zealand’s South Island to celebrate.

May 16, 2025

China and renewable energy: Dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

China’s deployment of renewable energy technologies is spectacular and globally dominant, but is not its primary focus.

May 7, 2025

Australia lays out red carpet for rapid green energy transition. Can Labor seize the moment?

What an opportunity Australia has before it.

April 11, 2025

Cartoon commentary

April 8, 2025

We should walk away — quickly — from Trump’s America

Anthony Albanese must feel that he understands how John Curtin felt after the fall of Singapore. The idea that Winston Churchill “abandoned” Australia to its fate is virtually a dogmatic myth inside Labor, not only part of the cult of Curtin but of Paul Keating, whose version of what occurred has been often repeated.

August 21, 2025

Leunig cartoon: Antisemitism or valid political comment?

This article was originally published in The Age in November 2012. The republishing of the Leunig cartoon in Pearl and Irritations brought my article to mind.

July 16, 2025

Who's afraid of Donald Trump?

With his use of extreme tariffs to punish countries with trade surpluses, US President Donald Trump seems to be making an economic fool of himself.

June 6, 2025

Mental health of workers undermined in New South Wales

The NSW Government is seeking to pursue legislative changes that would ultimately worsen mental health outcomes for working people.

May 13, 2025

Trump’s USAID cuts only accelerate the West’s miserly convergence with China

Critics of the Trump administration’s assault on foreign aid warn that it will undermine the United States’ capacity to compete with China.

May 5, 2025

Ignoring the impact of racism undermines effective policymaking

We have heard about a variety of urgent issues during the federal election campaign in the past few weeks and months, from cost of living, immigration, crime and health to housing and energy policies, but one of the topics that have received no attention — indeed never appeared high on the political agenda — is how to address racism.

October 3, 2025

Chris Sidoti's prescription for action on Palestine

At the National Press Club this week with Ben Saul, Chris Sidoti argues that recognition of Palestine is important, but that Australia must also comply with international law obligations, including acting on arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.

May 26, 2025

Dangers and conveniences of combining great power with egomania

To take just one possible indicator, if the worldwide stampede to safe haven investments is anything to go by, there is a general sense of foreboding out there regarding President Trump’s election to a second term in office and the deleterious effects of this on the global economy, the stability of international relations and the likelihood of war with China, the genocide in Gaza, the gathering pace of global warming, authoritarian rule, and the suppression of dissent.

April 29, 2025

Fossil fuels blamed as 84% of world's coral reefs hit by worst bleaching event ever recorded

“The magnitude and extent of the heat stress is shocking,” said one marine scientist.

September 5, 2025

Neo-Nazis and racist rallies: why it’s important the Australian media call them for what they are

If there was any doubt about neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell’s racist and anti-democratic attitudes, they were dispelled on the morning of 2 September when he gatecrashed a press conference by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes.

August 18, 2025

Message from the editor

Last Monday night I was part of a panel discussion on the future of Palestine with a fascinating group.

August 3, 2025

Australia speaks of normalising Israel. My family is living through its genocide

Earlier this week, I read the Australian Government’s statement on Palestinian recognition, signed by ministers who speak the bureaucratic language of “solutions".

July 24, 2025

Evans gobsmacked by ANU change plan

Former ANU Chancellor and Federal Minister Gareth Evans has expressed ‘acute concern’ at proposed changes in humanities and social sciences at ANU. In a letter delivered to the Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor this week, he says the university’s distinctive national mission is being ‘ignored or gravely under-valued’.

July 17, 2025

Donald Trump and his minions may yet do us a favour in ending AUKUS

The US must be told that we will not be involved in any way and at any time in a war with China over Taiwan.

June 28, 2025

Japanese prime minister’s abrupt no-show at NATO summit reveals a strained alliance with the US

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has sent a clear signal to the Trump administration: the Japan–US relationship is in a dire state.

June 11, 2025

Award for Morrison an insult to the truth

Scott Morrison’s award is not just a political misjudgment – it is an affront to decency.

May 2, 2025

Yale, Ben-Gvir and banning Palestinian groups

Universities are in a bind. As institutions of learning and teaching, knowledge learnt and taught should, or at the very least could, be put into practice.

July 31, 2025

Australian journalist in court accused of ‘antisemitism’

Mary Kostakidis was in federal court in Adelaide on Tuesday defending herself against racial discrimination charges for her reporting and commentary on Gaza, reports Joe Lauria.

May 23, 2025

It’s time for Albo to lead in new directions

Anthony Albanese is coming under pressure from different sections of society to change his approach to governing and also being criticised about the lack of imagination in his approach to foreign affairs.

October 1, 2025

Trump's peace plan shows Netanyahu has outmanoeuvred yet another American president

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has outmanoeuvred yet another American president.

September 30, 2025

The economics of Indonesia’s discontent

Economic discontent erupted in protests across Indonesia in late August 2025. The trigger was the proposal to give generous housing allowances to members of parliament, but unrest had been bubbling since early in the year.

September 26, 2025

How the West normalises the crimes of Zionism

There is no end in sight for the massacre in Gaza. Nearly two years after the start of Al Aqsa Flood, the United Nations Human Rights Council has — finally — declared Israel’s war in Gaza genocide.

June 21, 2025

AUKUS submarines would be obsolete before Australia gets them

Before the drawings have been completed, new detection technology has already made RN SSN AUKUS obsolete.

September 16, 2025

China’s giant military parade didn’t surprise just the West

China’s recent display of its newly acquired military might surprised not only international observers, but also its own seasoned diplomats.

August 15, 2025

White House to vet Smithsonian exhibits to ensure they 'align with Trump's interpretation' of US history

Smithsonian exhibits should be “accurate, patriotic, and enlightening – ensuring they remain places of learning, wonder and national pride for generations to come”, the White House demanded.

June 5, 2025

A sign of hope: UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay to receive 2025 Sydney Peace Prize

The Sydney Prize jury has announced the choice of UN High Commissioner Judge Navi Pillay as the recipient of the 2025 Sydney Peace Prize. The jury’s rationale and citation reads, “Navi Pillay, for a lifetime of advocating for accountability and responsibility in the face of crimes against humanity.”

May 24, 2025

The Coalition's climate change wars: Costs and opportunities

There should be no surprise that the Nationals’ climate change denial-infected policy preferences have led to a rupture of the Coalition.

July 8, 2025

The Rainbow Warrior 1985-2025 – Nuclear refugees in the Pacific: the evacuation of Rongelap - Part 2

On the last voyage of the Rainbow Warrior prior to its sinking by French agents in Auckland harbour on 10 July 1985 the ship had evacuated the entire population (320) of Rongelap in the Marshall Islands.

May 17, 2025

Still waiting for the Asian Century? The world-system has moved on

Dr Allan Patience’s recent essay, “Australia’s misunderstanding of the Asian Century”, is a wake-up call we can no longer afford to ignore.

April 28, 2025

The resilience of Gazan writing: Resisting temporal closure

One particular aspect of Palestinian resilience during Israel’s ongoing besiegement and genocide in the Gaza Strip concerns a prodigious amount of creative writing that, besides bearing witness to circumstance and personal experience, engages cultural resistance.

September 8, 2025

Message from the editor

If you had any doubt that global power dynamics are shifting, one image from the past week put paid to that.

August 31, 2025

Usman Khawaja urges Albanese to sanction Israel over Gaza genocide

Meeting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers on 28 August at Parliament House in Canberra, the Aussie Muslim Test opener, Usman Khawaja, pressed Australia to act decisively against Israel for the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal