November 5, 2025

It's hard to be an involved dad

Father’s Day was recently celebrated, bringing families together to thank their male progenitors for the support and (sometimes) caring love they give to their offspring.

November 4, 2025

A dangerous trifecta

Amid the world’s many troubles is the growing possibility of a combination of the bursting of a bubble, a major government and corporate debt crisis and the possibility that a popular investment strategy — lifecycle investing or borrowing to invest — will all implode at the same time.

October 6, 2025

The malignant minds taking over the American health sector

“He enjoyed showing people how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks.” It was a striking description of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., written by his cousin, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy.

November 20, 2025

Overworked, overburdened, and burning out: Australian teachers' workloads among the worst in OECD

Australian teachers have unsustainable workloads, and government responses have done little to ease their burden.

October 8, 2025

UK polls suggest Starmer is deeply unpopular. Can he survive another year?

Having led Labour to victory last year, the premier is struggling to build trust with his voters.

December 4, 2025

America’s justification for attacking Venezuela: Part 2: fact and fantasy in the drug wars

From Vietnam to Mexico and Afghanistan, the United States’ wars on drugs have deepened violence, addiction and instability. Today, that legacy is edging closer to Australia.

November 1, 2025

The Australian moment is now

History, it could be convincingly argued, is a series of pivot points. It is rarely a progression of a sequence of events, but rather a series of critical moments where multiple pathways are made available and the eventual outcome is determined by the decisions that are made in that moment.

December 2, 2025

Tough talk, weak evidence: the myth of a youth crime crisis

Governments across Australia are responding to perceived youth crime “crises” with harsher laws. But national data tell a very different story – one that raises serious questions about punishment, politics and evidence.

December 12, 2025

The war that broke Israel’s global legitimacy

Israel’s actions in Gaza have trashed its global standing and, paradoxically, left Jews less safe worldwide. The long-term consequences are only beginning to surface.

October 28, 2025

A circus and a summit: Trump and Xi visit Lee

It’s now in all the media. Lee Jae-myung will meet Donald Trump and Xi Jinping next week.

December 22, 2025

Ten threats, one emergency: how to become Earth Citizens

Humanity is facing a compounding crisis driven by population growth, consumption, pollution and power. These interconnected threats cannot be addressed one by one if civilisation is to endure.

December 15, 2025

The next century will be shaped by resistance, not inevitability

Across six centuries, power has claimed inevitability while resistance has redrawn the possible. As the world enters a century defined by climate, inequality and democratic strain, the forces that push back from below may once again shape the future.

December 6, 2025

After dominance: Japan enters a post-hegemony political era

After decades of near-continuous rule, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party is now governing as a minority under a more ideologically polarised leadership. A new era of fragmented, negotiated politics is taking shape.

November 15, 2025

Defending the BBC

Legal threats against the BBC over an edited interview highlight that an independent, taxpayer-funded, public broadcaster is anathema to Trump and his administration.

October 31, 2025

Game, set and match to the property industry – unless we change everything

The contradiction at the heart of Australian politics has never been clearer. On the one hand, the Albanese Government has rediscovered the language of national renewal of making things again, of manufacturing revival, of “A Future Made in Australia".

January 15, 2026

Best of 2025 - Australia’s fragile multicultural consensus under threat

_Anti-immigration rallies_ around Australia in late August and mid-October exposed public divides over migration, social cohesion and national identity.

December 11, 2025

AI needs governance, not a 'plan for a plan'

Australia’s National AI Plan prioritises infrastructure and adoption, but leaves governance and liability unresolved, creating uncertainty and risk, especially for smaller firms.

November 29, 2025

A Chinese visit, a security panic, and a silent media

The visit of China’s third-ranking leader should have prompted serious discussion about diplomacy and economic relations. Instead, Australia’s media fixated on security theatrics and fed a familiar cycle of fear.

November 18, 2025

‘Good neighbours are essential’: the history behind the Indonesia-Australia security treaty

Indonesia and Australia signed a landmark bilateral security treaty last week. But from the outset, Australia has enjoyed warm relations with its giant neighbour.

October 18, 2025

Paper walls at Thailand’s border

Myanmar’s current emergency is not a sudden rupture but a long arc of military rule that has criminalised dissent, dismantled civil society and pushed millions into precarity.

January 13, 2026

Best of 2025 - Muted response to Trump's appropriation of Christianity

“…and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert…” ( Acts 20:29–31).

December 16, 2025

One UK journalist’s close access to Hitler carries a warning about Trump’s media restrictions

A notorious episode from the 1930s shows how access, proximity to power and the lure of influence can quietly corrode journalistic judgement – a warning that resonates uncomfortably today.

October 24, 2025

‘We just have to be defiant’: Irrepressible environmentalist Bob Brown reflects on a life of activism

Hobart’s Theatre Royal was packed to the rafters on a chilly October evening when the irrepressible nature warrior Bob Brown launched his latest book Defiance.

December 20, 2025

Why are you still using Microsoft Windows?

The ACCC’s case against Microsoft raises questions about market power and consumer transparency – but it also highlights how dependence on bundled software limits real choice for users.

December 19, 2025

Australia’s school attendance crisis needs urgent national action

School attendance has been sliding for more than a decade, with more than a million Australian students now missing significant classroom time. Governments have set ambitious targets to reverse the trend, but meeting them will require a fundamental shift in approach.

November 17, 2025

If we don’t control the AI industry, it could end up controlling us, warn two chilling new books

For 16 hours last July, Elon Musk’s company lost control of its multi-million-dollar chatbot, Grok. “Maximally truth seeking” Grok was praising Hitler, denying the Holocaust and posting sexually explicit content.

October 17, 2025

Inspired by Gaza, Trump offers some hope on Thai-Cambodian border

US president tells Malaysia he intends to end the conflict at the ASEAN Summit.

December 9, 2025

Make NDIS billions go further for people with psychosocial disability

Reform of the NDIS is focused on slowing growth, but neglecting one of the biggest pressure points. Without proper psychosocial supports outside the scheme, unmet need will keep driving costs and harm alike.

November 10, 2025

The defence myth

When opponents of the military build-up and critics of the genocide in Palestine went to protest outside the Indo-Pacific Maritime Exposition in Sydney, they were confronted by a huge force of New South Wales police.

November 22, 2025

Two Trump peace plans

Trump’s proposed peace plan for Ukraine is sparking outrage across Europe. But how does this response compare with his earlier plan for Gaza?

October 23, 2025

Super for teeth: Australia’s hidden dental crisis

Australians are increasingly raiding retirement savings to fix their teeth. New guidance from AHPRA and the ATO warns against abusive models. What’s really going on – and what should change?

October 20, 2025

An immodest proposal for an ideal source of strategic policy advice

In the various debates and arguments on Australia’s defence, one thing is at least is settled: the government has agreed to continue funding national security strategic policy work undertaken by a sector composed of think-tanks and university centres that is significantly compromised.

December 5, 2025

A Boyer Lecture that misunderstands Australia’s defence history

The latest Boyer Lecture portrays Australia as trapped by anxiety about the United States. In fact, for decades the country pursued a deliberate, bipartisan strategy of defence self-reliance – abandoned only in recent years.

January 8, 2026

Best of 2025 - FOI changes big backward step for government transparency

There has been much commentary, most of it critical, about federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland’s recently introduced Bill that amends the Freedom of Information Act by restricting access through measures that will allow undermine a core democratic principles – accountability by government to the people it serves.

November 8, 2025

10,000+ Palestinians buried beneath Gaza rubble in ‘world’s largest mass grave’

“We call on the world to send international teams to recover the bodies of the missing,” said the member of one civil society group. “We call on the world to provide the necessary equipment to recover the bodies.”

October 10, 2025

Is Greta Thunberg the lone voice for justice in our world?

As the world moves from one crisis to another and our politicians ignore the immense injustices that are happening in their nation and in the world, what do ordinary non-violent citizens do to let their politicians know they aren’t happy with their lack of moral and ethical fortitude?

December 18, 2025

AI policy is stuck on productivity – and democracy is paying the price

Artificial intelligence is increasingly framed in terms of efficiency and growth. But that framing sidelines harder questions about power, choice and democratic governance.

December 8, 2025

Australia’s human rights report has been quietly buried

The world marks Human Rights Day this Wednesday 10 December. But a comprehensive parliamentary report calling for a national Human Rights Act remains unanswered. Its silence speaks volumes about the gap between rhetoric and action in Australia’s human rights commitments.

November 25, 2025

AI in journalism and democracy: can we rely on it?

GenAI tools are reshaping the information environment in ways most audiences never see. From the data that trains them to the labour that maintains them, their inner workings raise urgent questions for journalism and democratic accountability.

October 14, 2025

Japan's LDP coalition splits – what does this mean?

So, finally there is some room for principles in Japanese politics after all! Not much, but when it comes to the point of white having to embrace black something has to give.

October 13, 2025

Who would be a carer?

Whether because of temporary disability or permanent need, the demand for accessible “holiday” accommodation is growing with our ageing population.

November 24, 2025

Net Zero and the metaphysics of anxiety in Australia

Net zero is not simply an environmental target. It has become a psychological and cultural anchor in a society that feels increasingly unstable.

January 10, 2026

Best of 2025 - Age policy is a shambles. Where to from here? Part 1 & 2

Wherever you look, at residential aged care institutions, at retirement village life, at the home support package scheme, or talk to the people over 65 — called “the old” — living at home making no claim on the system, just coping by whatever means they can, this stage of life means grappling with overwhelming challenges.

January 9, 2026

Best of 2025 - Don’t mistake truth for hate, prime minister

Anthony Albanese says Palestinian children are taught to hate. My daughter’s first trip home proves otherwise.

October 7, 2025

World water in crisis

Almost two-thirds of the world’s rivers are in a dire condition, either drying up or supercharged with floodwaters, according to the latest report on the emerging global water crisis by the World Meteorological Organisation.

December 13, 2025

A West Bank farmer left for dead – and a system that looks the other way

A Palestinian farmer survived a near-fatal settler attack – raising urgent questions about protection, impunity, and the role of Israeli authorities.

October 9, 2025

Shadow of McCarthyism looms over controversial firing of Texas professor who taught about gender identity

Texas A&M University announced the resignation of its president, Mark A. Welsh III, on 18 September 2025, following a controversial decision earlier in the month to fire a professor over a classroom exchange with a student about gender identity.

January 12, 2026

Best of 2025 - Disarming extremism in the algorithmic age

Amelie Szczecinski 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.

December 10, 2025

Ellen Hansen: At 75, UNHCR is needed more than ever – but its funding is being cut

As global displacement reaches record highs, UNHCR marks its 75th anniversary facing deep funding cuts that threaten its ability to protect refugees and save lives worldwide.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal