October 15, 2025

Reclaiming care in the age of AI

Sixty years ago, the patient-doctor interaction was, at its best, about human beings connecting, engaging, listening, observing and caring.

October 8, 2025

Hundreds of thousands flood cities across Europe to demand end to genocide in Gaza

An estimated 250,000 people dressed in red crowded into Museum Square in Amsterdam, demanding that the Dutch government end its support for Israel.

January 24, 2026

Australia’s economic growth forecasts look upbeat – but the foundations are shaky

According to the government the economy is strengthening, but the risks are all on the downside, especially the projection that productivity will grow significantly faster than it has over the previous 15 years.

November 25, 2025

Losing the democracy sausage vibe

The last federal election saw a sharp rise in harassment and aggression at polling places, according to submissions from around the country. From death threats to deception, the once-peaceful ritual of casting a vote is under threat – and Australia needs to act.

October 29, 2025

Whitlam dismissal secrets unearthed from the archives of the Canadian governor-general

This newly uncovered material, exclusively published by Crikey, is the first indication from Sir John Kerr himself that Queen Elizabeth II approved of the position he had taken during his dismissal of Gough Whitlam.

October 9, 2025

‘Disaster season’: What is that?

Anika Wells, in announcing a meeting with three telco giants to discuss Optus’s Triple Zero emergency call system catastrophe in September, referred to the need for Australians to have confidence in the system before the coming “disaster season”. By that she meant summer. Is there really such a season?

February 3, 2026

The smouldering wreckage on Capital Hill – part 1

The Coalition’s implosion after the Bondi sitting was not a sudden accident. It exposed long-running tensions between the Liberals and Nationals, intensified by polling anxiety, One Nation’s rise and the limits of Australia’s Westminster conventions.

January 16, 2026

Best of 2025 - The boy who cried antisemitism

For two years, we’ve been told Australia is drowning in antisemitism. Every protest for Palestinian human rights, every mural, every chant criticising Israel has been hauled up as “evidence.”

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 19, 2026

Britain has banned junk food advertising to kids. There are big lessons for Australia

Britain has moved to limit junk food marketing to children, despite loopholes and lobbying. Australia still hasn’t acted.

February 18, 2026

Australia is finally building more social housing – but it’s still not enough

Public investment will add tens of thousands of new social housing dwellings by 2030, reversing decades of decline. But new research shows the increase will only prevent further erosion of the sector, not reduce unmet need.

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.

February 20, 2026

AI, productivity and the long stall in living standards

Artificial intelligence may offer the best chance to lift stagnant productivity and living standards – but without deliberate policy choices, its benefits will be uneven and limited.

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.

February 13, 2026

An incomparable job, an honoured place as Founder

John Menadue, and the late Susie Menadue, did an incomparable job in conceiving, establishing, growing and nurturing Pearls and Irritations as a brave and independent alternative to the conformity of Australia’s legacy media.

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 30, 2026

NATO is failing – and ANZUS is next

NATO is unravelling as shared interests and trust with the United States collapse. For Australia, this raises urgent questions about the future value of ANZUS and related security arrangements.

February 4, 2026

Abbott, Boyce and Trump – three ways to deny a warming world

Prominent political figures continue to dismiss or distort the evidence on climate change. Their claims collapse under even basic scrutiny, revealing resistance rooted not in science but in ideology and self-interest.

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.

February 10, 2026

Why higher taxes make more sense than higher interest rates

Rather than cutting public spending to restore the budget balance and reduce inflationary pressures, it would be better to increase taxation.

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.

February 26, 2026

President Trump: Give back the money and stop grabbing more

The White House and Congress can and should provide relief to American families who bore the costs of illegal tariffs. The administration has the responsibility to design such relief.

February 2, 2026

Mass layoffs continue to punish working class under Trump

Major US companies including Amazon, UPS and Dow are announcing large job cuts as employment growth slows, raising questions about the strength of the US labour market under Donald Trump.

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.

February 14, 2026

Message from the Editor

We’ve had a huge response this week to the news that John is stepping back from daily involvement in running Pearls and Irritations in order to write and enjoy life more.

January 29, 2026

The end of the lucky country’s security fantasy

As the post-war global order unravels, Australia’s long-standing reliance on great and powerful friends is proving dangerously hollow – and the country is unprepared for what comes next.

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.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal