December 15, 2025

Message from the Editor

As we hurtle towards the chaos of Christmas, we are taking a moment to reflect on the high and lows of 2025, and what it all means for 2026.

November 2, 2025

Notice which genocides you are and are not allowed to oppose

Do you notice how nobody’s losing their jobs or getting deported for criticising the genocidal atrocities in Sudan?

October 24, 2025

After ICJ ruling, can UN relief agency UNRWA resume full Gaza operations?

ICJ states that Israel must allow aid into Gaza, ensuring food, water, medicine, and shelter for the Palestinian population.

January 10, 2026

Best of 2025 - Israel’s interception of the Gaza aid flotilla is a clear violation of international law

The Israel Defence Force has intercepted a flotilla of humanitarian vessels seeking to deliver aid to Gaza, taking control of multiple vessels and arresting activists, including Greta Thunberg.

November 28, 2025

Why Medicare needs joint federal–state hospitals

Medicare’s founding promise is failing millions as jurisdictional division leaves patients stuck on waiting lists and priced out of specialist care. A shared federal–state hospital system is the missing reform.

October 7, 2025

Australia faces a looming crisis of older women retiring in poverty. Here’s what we can do

Australia faces a serious challenge. Despite important progress on gender equality over recent decades, a looming crisis now threatens the economic security of older women. Without urgent and bold action, we risk consigning further generations of women to poverty in retirement.

January 14, 2026

Best of 2025 - The ABC and News Corp finally agree on something: China panic

Last week, a friend asked if I was worried about Chinese “nuclear threats".

October 17, 2025

Denial and amnesia: Is the global community ready to welcome Israel back?

Analysts express concern over the rehabilitation of Israel, even as it says it has done no wrong.

December 14, 2025

Book extract: Understanding China: governance, socio-economics, global influence

China’s rise has reshaped global economics, lifted millions out of poverty, and challenged Western assumptions about governance. This extract from ‘Understanding China, Governance, Socio-Economics Global Influence’ argues that engagement, not confrontation, offers the only viable path forward.

December 2, 2025

Rising student visa refusals clash with plans to boost enrolments

After encouraging universities to expand overseas enrolments, the government has overseen a sharp fall in student visa approval rates – leaving institutions uncertain and applicants frustrated.

November 30, 2025

Faith that costs something: the Pope's challenge to comfortable Christianity

A new Vatican document challenges wealthy Catholics to move beyond charity toward justice, solidarity and real encounters with the poor.

January 6, 2026

Best of 2025 - Labor says its second term will be about productivity reform. These ideas could help shift the dial

In his victory speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted social policy as a major factor in Labor’s electoral success, particularly Medicare, housing and cost-of-living relief. He was justified in doing so.

December 7, 2025

Bazball has revolutionised English cricket – Australia should be nervous

England’s ultra-aggressive “Bazball” approach has transformed its Test cricket record. Historical data suggests it could also give England its best chance in 15 years to reclaim the Ashes in Australia.

October 18, 2025

DPP speaks out – budget crisis, blackmail or a balking of duty?

ACT director of Public Prosecutions Victoria Engel SC has upped the ante — dangerously so in the view of many in the legal profession — in a very public bid for further funds for her office.

October 20, 2025

Message from the editor

Readers are well aware of our special interest in calm and rational coverage of China. Often we focus on geopolitics, and the change in China’s position in a world of continual, swirling change is fascinating.

December 11, 2025

Why Pearls and Irritations matters – Eugene Doyle

Long-time contributor Eugene Doyle reflects on Pearls and Irritations as an open-ended think tank and calls on readers to support independent policy debate into 2026.

December 6, 2025

P&I provides a moral compass, keeps hope alive and spurs on action

‘Let me also take this opportunity to say thank you for what you are doing for Australia. P&I provides a moral compass, keeps hope alive and spurs on action." Dr Jane Anderson Adjunct Research Fellow – Population and Global Health The University of Western Australia

November 4, 2025

A tribute to Ali Kazak

I had the privilege, together with the late Frans Timmerman, of working with Ali a good deal from the mid-1970s till the mid-1990s in producing the newspaper/magazine Free Palestine, and as national secretary of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign for a decade.

December 17, 2025

How gun ownership works in Australia – and what may change

In the wake of the Bondi shootings, attention has turned to how firearms are licensed and regulated in Australia, and whether proposed reforms would address the risks they are meant to prevent.

October 27, 2025

Message from the editor

As I look out of my window this morning, I can see a very small proportion of the 34 million people who live in Delhi, 6.5 million more than inhabit the whole of Australia.

December 9, 2025

Pearls and Irritations is growing and changing – and needs your support

We need your financial support to raise an additional $58,500 to meet our $250,000 fundraising target by Monday 15 December.

November 13, 2025

Another RSL dope wants to draw us into a major war

It beggars belief that the outgoing head of the RSL, Greg Melick, has abused the quiet solemnity of Remembrance Day to lecture and berate the Albanese government on its defence policy.

January 12, 2026

Best of 2025 - Blame and frame: How Chinese Australians are counted when blamed, discounted when needed

We say we want to understand China. Then we glance past a million Chinese speakers at home and start counting somewhere else.

November 27, 2025

Independent media is essential – and we urgently need your help

We urgently need your financial support. We have raised only $78,000 towards our goal of $250,000 by mid-December.

November 6, 2025

Trump turns the tables on Taiwan

When the razzle dazzle of the prime minister’s first face-to-face meeting with the mercurial US president is forgotten and the huge sigh of relief that nothing went wrong subsides, questions will be asked about what all the puffery achieved.

October 31, 2025

South Korea, Canada and a middle-power submarine: Can Australia join?

Sometimes, middle-power enthusiasts get overly excited about the potential for said states to work together. It’s almost as if you want to see those “little guys” grab the ball and run it all the way to the try line — or the end zone, for you Americans.

October 25, 2025

UN expert says all nations with ties to Israel ‘responsible in some measure’ for Gaza genocide

Francesca Albanese wrote that states that supported Israel financially and militarily “could and should be held liable for aiding, assisting, or jointly participating in internationally wrongful acts.”

January 7, 2026

Best of 2025 - If we want to win the Pacific, we must first listen – and stop blaming China for everything

A 9 September editorial in The Sydney Morning Herald, titled China and Australia in a high-speed race to win control of the Pacific, offered a vivid picture of the daily contest for influence in the region.

December 3, 2025

Brave ACT shows restorative justice for sex offenders can work

A major Australian Institute of Criminology evaluation shows restorative justice in the ACT has improved victim wellbeing and significantly reduced reoffending in domestic and sexual violence cases.

October 11, 2025

Judge allows Kostakidis ‘antisemitism’ case to proceed

Justice Stephen McDonald told the court, in the course of a six-minute hearing on Thursday, that the contention the Zionist Federation of Australia had no case against journalist Mary Kostakidis had to be determined at trial, reports Joe Lauria.

January 5, 2026

Best of 2025 - Jeffrey Sachs: Ending the genocide now

A UN Security Council vote to grant Palestine permanent UN membership would end Israel’s zealous delusions of permanent control over Palestine, write Jeffrey Sachs and Sybil Fares. But the US stands in the way.

November 22, 2025

Working with PM Fraser - burying White Australia - Part 4

John Menadue stayed on as the most senior public servant in the land, after the trauma of the Dismissal. In this 5-part series he details what life was like working with PM Fraser. Given his closeness to Whitlam, some of his conclusions are surprising.

November 20, 2025

Nurturing the next generation of voices

One of the things that sets P&I apart is the seniority and deep experience of many of our authors. And that will not change, facts and historical understanding of issues are essential if we are to tackle the huge issues confronting us all. But the other essential element is fresh thinking and the kind of sparkling hope and action that young Australians bring to the table.

January 15, 2026

Regime change riots in Iran fail faster than expected

Iran cut Starlink traffic and blocked communications as unrest faded and pro-government marches filled the streets.

November 18, 2025

Emergency powers and tariffs: The US Supreme Court’s test of the President’s authority

The Supreme Court is set to decide on the limits of executive power – and that decision will have practical implications for Australia.

December 8, 2025

Message from the Editor

Sometimes we run a piece that is much longer than our usual 1000 word upper limit because it is worth it.

November 3, 2025

Bewildered in Trumpland

What happens when militaristic shouts of “USA USA”, are combined with a blatant display of Trumpian boasting in an ersatz Japanese imitation of a 19th century German neo-baroque castle plonked down in a quiet Tokyo suburb?

December 4, 2025

The origin of Labor versus Green tensions

Claims that the environment movement almost cost Labor the 1990 election ignore the decisive role played by Democrat votes and preferences. A closer look shows the campaign helped deliver victory – and marked a turning point in Labor’s relationship with environmental politics.

October 13, 2025

Message from the editor

This month we are working hard on a new initiative, a P&I podcast series called Pearlcast. Pearlcast will kick off with a topic close to our hearts, the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam Government.

November 16, 2025

Australia’s reluctance to rest its fast bowlers could prove disastrous during the Ashes

Australia faces a huge challenge before the Ashes even begin.

November 7, 2025

OFFICIAL – Israel’s proposed death-penalty law is a war crime

Not satisfied it seems with the continued genocide of Palestinians, Israel is now looking to execute Palestinian prisoners by introducing a death penalty law.

November 1, 2025

Of social cohesion, belonging and the Australian flag

Until recently, “social cohesion” was a term rarely uttered by Australian politicians. Then suddenly, it was everywhere – in press conferences, speeches and ministerial statements. But what does it actually mean?

November 29, 2025

A long-overdue update to Australia’s broken environment laws

After years of delay, Australia will reform its broken environment laws. The deal brings real improvements, but key risks remain.

November 14, 2025

Indigenous political candidates face less voter bias than parties might think: new research

When political parties consider potential Indigenous candidates, they often worry about voter backlash.

January 9, 2026

Avoiding false conclusions

In the aftermath of the Bondi attack, explanations have been offered quickly and with strong moral force. Misidentifying the causes of violence, however, risks obscuring political responsibility and undermining efforts to reduce future harm.

October 30, 2025

The easy way or the hard way to the same result

National leaders deceive most people most of the time. Israel’s long, atrocious, US-backed assault on the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon is the latest example, as are their joint attacks on Syria, Yemen, and Iran.

October 16, 2025

Australia’s ‘ISIS brides’ have returned. Governments can do better at handling this situation

In 2014, the Islamic State terrorist group declared a caliphate, a form of Islamic government headed by a caliph, considered to be a successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

December 16, 2025

Australia’s teachers – undervalued and overburdened

As ATAR scores dominate headlines, the work of teachers remains largely invisible. They are central to education and social cohesion, yet underpaid, overworked and routinely taken for granted.

December 10, 2025

Australia’s social media ban puts free speech on the chopping block

Australia’s social media ban for under-16s is being sold as a protection for children, but it raises serious questions about free speech, democratic participation and the perverse effects of prohibition.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal