January 23, 2026

Can we rely on Treasury’s latest net migration forecasts?

Treasury’s Net Overseas Migration forecasts don’t match current visa settings and trends. Migration may fall less than predicted – and stay higher for longer.

November 23, 2025

Henry Reynolds’ bold, new book takes a top-end view of Australian history

First Nations people please be advised this article speaks of racially discriminating moments in history, including the distress and death of First Nations people.

January 30, 2026

Why the Doomsday Clock still underestimates the risk of civilisational collapse

The Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight than ever before, but its latest warning still leaves out many of the forces pushing civilisation towards collapse.

February 13, 2026

Iran’s comprehensive peace proposal to the United States

A regional peace settlement grounded in Palestinian statehood, international law and mutual security guarantees offers a real alternative to perpetual conflict.

November 14, 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.”

January 29, 2026

If we’re choosing a national day, there are better options

Australia’s national day marks the beginning of its colonisation. There are better, more meaningful dates that reflect Australian nationhood and democratic choice.

January 7, 2026

Best of 2025 - Climate change risk to our coastal cities

Confronting the nation’s coastal urban cities as it approaches 2055, 30 years on, will be both higher sea levels and air and water temperatures.

December 4, 2025

Selling out our sovereignty

Revelations of secret F-35 fighter jet parts shipments to Israel have exposed a yawning hole in Australia’s sovereign national defence.

January 13, 2026

Best of 2025 - China, US or us? Australia’s Upper Path in the global minerals race

The headlines are breathless: “ China versus the world,” proclaimed The Australian, quoting some very important people from the sheriff’s office urging allies to “decouple” from Beijing and unite against China’s “takeover of global rare earth supply chains”.

December 22, 2025

New Year’s Day and the promise that does not last

New Year’s Day promises renewal, then lets it slip away. That fleeting openness may be the point – not a failure, but a reminder about how meaning actually appears in our lives.

October 21, 2025

The migration debate in Australia

Australia’s population growth rate is returning to normal. Instead, of cutting migration, the solution to Australia’s housing crisis is to increase the rate of new dwelling approvals and completions.

October 12, 2025

Universal jurisdiction: Australia’s crucial role in international criminal justice

Samar Batool Athar is one of six talented young Australians who will travel to the UN General Assembly in New York next week as part of the Global Voices project.

February 5, 2026

Freedom, faith and fairness: are we losing what made Australia home?

Islamic ethics and liberal democracy share deep common ground in justice, dignity and equality. But selective commitment to those principles now risks eroding the freedoms that once made democratic societies a refuge.

November 5, 2025

The press and the Dismissal – Part I

On the morning of 15 October 1975, most major newspapers advocated in their editorials that the Labor Government should go.

February 28, 2026

From Iraq to Iran – how international law has unravelled

In 2003, governments at least felt compelled to argue the legality of war. In 2026, a possible strike on Iran proceeds without even the pretence of legal justification.

February 27, 2026

Pax Americana and the starvation siege of Cuba

For more than three decades the world has voted overwhelmingly to end the US embargo on Cuba. Washington ignores the law, the UN, and the humanitarian cost – and its allies look away.

January 25, 2026

How Adelaide built Writers’ Week

Adelaide Festival Writers’ Week has helped shape South Australia’s cultural identity since 1960. Its cancellation is a major blow – financially, reputationally, and culturally.

November 7, 2025

When in doubt, blame China (every News Corp headline needs a villain)

If you only skimmed the headlines from News Corp, you’d be forgiven for thinking China was launching a krill-powered naval strike from Antarctica, staging an electric vehicle blitzkrieg across the outback and forcing Hyundai into some humiliating act of surrender.

March 13, 2026

Illegal tariffs, tax cuts for the wealthy, and an unauthorised war - Part 2

Cuts to healthcare and foreign aid, combined with an unauthorised war, reveal the human consequences of fiscal and political choices now measured in lives.

March 10, 2026

The Albanese controversy shows how universities have lost their way

A cancelled venue for a UN rapporteur’s appearance highlights how universities are increasingly restricting debate about Israel and Palestine under pressure over antisemitism.

January 27, 2026

Trump’s Greenland grab is part of a new space race – and the stakes are getting higher

Trump’s shifting rhetoric on Greenland masks a consistent strategic goal – control of a key Arctic location that underpins US space surveillance and military reach.

December 14, 2025

How charitable are Australians? Three charts show how much we give

New data shows fewer Australians are claiming tax-deductible donations and our global ranking for generosity is slipping. Changing giving habits, the rise of online fundraisers and an ageing donor base all help explain what the statistics miss.

October 30, 2025

Why the annexation of the West Bank matters to all of us

Between 1 January and 30 September 2025, Israeli authorities carried out 1288 demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

February 12, 2026

From protest laws to writers’ festivals – Chris Minns overreaches

From protest laws to public commentary on writers and festivals, the NSW premier’s interventions reveal a troubling impatience with dissent and democratic restraint.

November 27, 2025

Gaza’s economy has collapsed beyond recognition

Gaza’s economy, society and basic infrastructure have been almost entirely wiped out. With 90 per cent of people displaced, food systems destroyed and schools and hospitals in ruins, reconstruction is becoming harder by the day.

November 26, 2025

Western Australia is rich, but it's not the economic powerhouse it claims to be

Western Australian politicians claim the state is the “powerhouse” of the national economy and deserves an outsized share of GST revenue. The ABS State Accounts for 2024–25 tell a different story, revealing a decade of weak growth, falling per capita output and a system that rewards WA despite clear under-performance.

February 16, 2026

John Mitchell, David Lindenmayer and Bruce Chapman: Keeping the farm in the family can come at a high cost

As Australia’s farming population ages, poorly planned succession can destroy wealth, fracture families and leave no one better off.

February 1, 2026

Does killing dingoes make K’gari safer for people?

The Queensland government’s decision to cull dingoes on K’gari after a tragic fatal incident has sparked debate about public safety, conservation and whether killing wildlife reduces risk to visitors.

January 27, 2026

It's time to measure what matters: actual emissions

Net zero targets are increasingly being met through offsets and land-sector accounting rather than real cuts to fossil fuel emissions. The result is climate progress on paper, while pollution continues in practice.

December 1, 2025

‘Genocide is not over,’ Amnesty leader says as Israel keeps bombing Gaza

“So far, there is no indication that Israel is taking serious measures to reverse the deadly impact of its crimes and no evidence that its intent has changed.”

November 18, 2025

Sudan cannot be an invisible tragedy

The end of violence must be a first step in the Sudan Civil War. And Australia has a key role to play.

October 20, 2025

Albanese meets Trump: A fly to a wanton schoolboy

Paul Begley looks at how the Australian prime minister might “manage” his scheduled meeting with Donald Trump this week.

January 11, 2026

Best of 2025 - Journos as heroes and villains - 'The Hack' reviewed - Part 1

In films and on the small screen, journalists are portrayed as heroes or villains. In The Hack they are both. Does this reflect the diminished, benighted standing journalists hold in society today or is it a step forward in showing the complexities of the work?

January 10, 2026

Best of 2025 - Ben Saul on Palestinian recognition and the Trump plan

At the National Press Club this week, Ben Saul argued that Australia is more than a “modest middle power” and must step up on Palestine.

November 22, 2025

Never underestimate a shearer's cook

What comes next for Liberal leader Sussan Ley after the party walked away from committing to net zero?_

October 13, 2025

Ignorance is complicity: Australia must end its arms trade with those committing crimes

Rayana Ajam is one of six talented young Australians who will travel to the UN General Assembly in New York next week as part of the Global Voices project.

October 10, 2025

Our American obsession

I have spent seven years of my life in the United States and much of my writing has been influenced by the US.

February 26, 2026

The Liberal Party collapse and the myth of restoration

The Liberals’ talk of “renewal” looks less like reform than ritual – invoking origins to avoid confronting decline. The real lesson is not about personalities, but how power loses legitimacy when it drifts from reality.

October 29, 2025

How UN betrayal of West Papua led to genocide, step by step

The United Nations has recently come under attack from the Trump Administration and, much as it goes against the grain, it’s difficult to argue with real-estate-developer-cum-ambassador-representative for UN Management and Reform [sic], Jeff Bartos:

October 27, 2025

The future of Palestine: What Australia must do

Responding to continuing slaughter in Gaza is a test of Australian politicians and the government’s courage.

November 16, 2025

From populism to progress: The Netherlands’ historic election

The Netherlands has been at the centre of a political shake-up in recent weeks, with the vote count only just finalised.

December 7, 2025

History, memory, and pain: Fifty years after the Indonesian invasion of East Timor

On 7 December 2025, fifty years since Indonesian troops invaded East Timor, survivors and their descendants continue to live with the legacy of occupation, violence and loss – and to insist that remembrance, truth and justice still matter.

March 15, 2026

Seven good films out of ten – a surprisingly strong year for the Oscars

For the first time in years, most of the films nominated for Best Picture are genuinely good. From Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value to Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, the Oscars may finally be recognising cinema worth watching.

February 25, 2026

How Australia should fix capital gains tax

The 50 per cent capital gains tax discount departs from the original purpose of taxing real gains, entrenches inequality and unfairly advantages wealth over work.

November 25, 2025

Axed AG tells how Labor really changes the Constitution

Despite Labor’s longstanding appetite for constitutional reform, former Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus now points to a different path: bold, nation-shaping change without the need for a referendum.

March 2, 2026

From Minneapolis to Africa – how states fracture when legitimacy fails

From Nigeria to Ethiopia, African conflicts show how federations unravel when force loses accountability. Minnesota’s standoff with Washington reveals the same warning signs.

November 10, 2025

‘Hawkish’ interpretations rise as US-China discourse gets lost in translation

In an echo of the Cold War, mistranslations are testing already strained nerves in Washington and Beijing.

November 15, 2025

Trick or treaty? Don't know, can't say

The Indonesian print media covering the one-day visit of President Prabowo Subianto to Australia this month has dazzled its readers with some splendid insights into a serious issue.

November 9, 2025

Rewriting Soeharto's story

Indonesian conservatives are rewriting the 32-year history of the late second president Soeharto, a former army general, champion of corruption and destroyer of democracy.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal