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?

March 10, 2026

‘Intentional chemical warfare’: Toxic black rain in Tehran after US-Israel bomb oil facilities

Air strikes on oil storage facilities in Tehran have triggered massive fires, toxic rainfall and choking pollution, raising fears of a major environmental and humanitarian disaster.

February 8, 2026

What Australia’s past might teach Israel about its future

President Herzog’s visit might be useful if he could be persuaded to ponder the lessons Australia might offer.

February 7, 2026

Message from the Editor

The debate over the visit of the Israeli President has occupied much space in P&I this week, and for good reason.

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.

February 25, 2026

Terrorism – a blow back from western violence in Muslim countries

Terrorism dominates political debate and media coverage in Australia despite causing relatively few deaths. The deeper causes – western military violence, state power, and selective moral language – are rarely examined.

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.

February 23, 2026

Globalisation of occupation: when genocide becomes an international project

Thousands of foreign nationals are serving in Israel’s military with the legal tolerance of their home states, while peaceful protest against the war is criminalised. This double standard exposes a deep failure of international law and accountability.

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.

March 7, 2026

Message from the Editor

When I stared in newspapers it was often said that today’s paper is tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapper. It is a relief to know that some are not so casual about the press. John Menadue and Paul Keating both have long memories, and mark a special anniversary today. It is exactly three years to the day since The Age and SMH ran a series called ‘Red Alert – warning war with China would come within three years, making that deadline today.

January 23, 2026

“Take the sign out of the window” – Carney on power, coercion and middle states

Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Mark Carney argues the rules-based international order is in rupture, not transition – and that “middle powers” must stop performing compliance and start building shared resilience. His speech – reproduced here – calls for values-based realism, domestic strength and new coalitions to reduce coercion and preserve sovereignty.

March 4, 2026

Another poor US intelligence call?

As the US strikes Iran while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, questions grow about selective enforcement of international law and a long record of flawed intelligence assessments.

February 5, 2026

Like a gambler who lost his fortune, Israel wants another war

Despite a declared ceasefire and the return of hostages, large-scale killing has continued in Gaza. The war has become self-perpetuating, leaving Israel morally, politically and strategically diminished.

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.

November 21, 2025

My one hope – to meet my wife and daughters again

Hamed Al-Mansi is a physical education teacher and farmer from Gaza. He is now alone in Gaza and his dearest wish is to reunite with his family. He has allowed us to publish an extract of his diary.

January 26, 2026

Reflections of an Arab Australian on the new 'hate speech' laws

Australia’s new hate speech laws are landing in a climate of deep mistrust and unequal public empathy. When grief, protest and solidarity are treated as threats, social cohesion becomes a hollow promise, Sawsan Madina writes.

November 19, 2025

Coalition politicians who can't accept the threat of climate change should resign

Politicians who cannot accept climate change is humanity’s greatest threat should have no place in the Australian parliament.

November 8, 2025

AUKUS and nuclear propulsion proliferation in the Asia-Pacific

President Trump recently announced support for South Korea’s plans to build nuclear-powered submarines.

January 21, 2026

The man who puts his name on everything

Trump’s compulsion to mark territory is more than ego. It reflects a worldview where prestige matters more than truth, law, or restraint.

January 18, 2026

Best of 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.

November 5, 2025

In memoriam: The slow death of the Quad

Quietly, but surely, life is ebbing away from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad).

December 1, 2025

Message from the Editor

I was lucky to speak with a room full of young people at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering this week, at an ‘ask me anything’ session. So many of them were worried that the university system was not delivering, and that, for students, fear of debt was making them think twice about further education and distorting subject choices.

November 23, 2025

Working with PM Fraser - parting words - Part 5 - Malcolm Fraser

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

November 15, 2025

This Russian victory really is one for the little guy

The Castle remains good law in Australia. Almost three decades since the battling suburban solicitor Dennis Denuto introduced us all to the high legal concept of “the vibe of the thing”, the High Court has broadly endorsed the classic movie’s basic contention: a man’s home is his castle.

January 11, 2026

Best of 2025 - Between two wounds: Gaza confronts Trump's plan to end the war

On a cold morning in central Gaza City, Nevin Al-Barbari, 35, sat in what remained of her family home, watching her two-year-old daughter, Reem, explore the rooms she had only recently come to know.

December 5, 2025

Words or action? Dreyfus and human rights at home

Mark Dreyfus has been appointed Australia’s special envoy on human rights. Is the government prepared to match international advocacy with concrete action at home – by finally legislating a Human Rights Act?

October 23, 2025

Dental health – time for a small, cost-effective revolution

In the many years I’ve been writing about the dental divide, the only movement I’ve seen is in the increasingly bad numbers around poor oral health, waiting lists and costs to patients. It’s time to see dental caries as a preventable disease.

October 22, 2025

Chris Hedges' Edward Said memorial lecture: ‘Requiem for Gaza’

Journalist Chris Hedges delivers the 2025 Edward Said Memorial Lecture, “Requiem for Gaza” in Adelaide, Australia.

October 10, 2025

Australia’s next big bet lies East, not West

It is in Asia where Australia’s bread is buttered. And Canberra needs a strategy on the security impact that is a gathering tide from the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs on our interests there.

December 12, 2025

Why the Vatican’s latest word on women deacons has angered reformers

A newly released Vatican document on women deacons has sparked anger among Catholic reformers, revealing deep resistance to change, clericalism, and the marginalisation of women in church leadership.

January 28, 2026

How the new hate laws could chill protest in Australia

Australia’s new hate laws give ministers broad powers to ban groups – but uncertainty about what counts as a “hate crime” risks chilling legitimate political protest.

November 11, 2025

After Trump goes home

If anyone had any lingering doubts about the change in the world order, the sight of President Trump pumping his fist into the air at the doorway of Air Force One, before turning his back on Asia to fly home, they should be put to bed now.

March 11, 2026

How to lose an election: The 2025 Liberal Party election review

The leaked review shows how chaotic campaign management and policy announcements ignoring key demographics cost the Coalition the election.

March 14, 2026

Grandstanding government right off-side – Message from the Editor

I have never been cynical about politics. At my 1980s high school, I confused many by having then Prime Minister Bob Hawke plastered across my A4 binder instead of Bruce Springsteen or Boy George. After starting life in journalism, where there were plenty of cynics, I horrified my editor by leaving to work for the Federal ALP. He dubbed the move the worst decision I had ever made. But I was unmoved.

December 21, 2025

A defence of 'doing nothing'

Public safety can be strengthened without turning fear into a political performance. When protection becomes theatre, institutions weaken and social division deepens.

December 18, 2025

Climate hot takes for 2025

Scientific evidence in 2025 showed global warming accelerating faster than expected, while emissions continued to rise and climate policy lagged dangerously behind physical reality.

December 13, 2025

Don’t take it from us – here’s what great Australians think of P&I

At the time of writing, Pearls & Irritations is still $23,405 short of its critically needed fundraising target, with just four days remaining. Leading Australian thinkers explain why independent, expert-led analysis matters more than ever.

November 12, 2025

The Dismissal was a calculated conservative plot: Albanese

In a speech to mark 50 years since the day, Anthony Albanese says: “The Dismissal was a calculated plot, hatched by conservative forces which sacrificed conventions and institutions in the pursuit of power.”

November 10, 2025

Message from the editor

It has been a real pleasure to watch so many Americans enjoy what might just be a pivotal moment in American politics, with the victory of Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim and South Asian to win the office of mayor of New York.

March 15, 2026

Antisemitism: “It’s a trick. We always use it.”

Public debate about genocide in Gaza is increasingly dominated by claims of antisemitism. The result is a political climate where outrage at Israel’s actions is recast as prejudice.

February 11, 2026

Salt, light and the visit of Isaac Herzog

As controversy surrounds the visit of Israel’s president, Frank Brennan reflects on how Australians might respond with moral seriousness, legal clarity and a commitment to justice for all.

March 2, 2026

Trump’s dangerous war without consent

The United States is now at war with Iran without congressional approval, and the costs – strategic, human and constitutional – could be catastrophic.

January 13, 2026

Another pristine new year, another human write-off

Each New Year arrives full of promise, and each is steadily dismantled by human folly. History suggests 2026 will be no exception.

March 8, 2026

China waits and watches as the US fights all its tigers at once

The US–Israeli war with Iran has shattered Washington’s hope of concentrating its power on containing China. Instead, the United States is entangled in multiple conflicts while Beijing gains strategic time.

January 20, 2026

Trump and Putin can still save the last nuclear arms limit

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) expires in weeks. A simple extension could preserve limits on US and Russian nuclear arsenals and buy time for deeper cuts.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal