We have heard about a variety of urgent issues during the federal election campaign in the past few weeks and months, from cost of living, immigration, crime and health to housing and energy policies, but one of the topics that have received no attention — indeed never appeared high on the political agenda — is how to address racism. (more…)
Category: Policy
-
A fistful of dollars: The dumbing down of Australian election campaigns
We are mugs. This seems to be the first assumption behind most Australian election campaigns. (more…)
-
Whither national urban policy?
Urban policy in Australia, despite our historically high level of urbanisation, has made only on-off appearances at the federal level of government. (more…)
-
If I were foreign minister…
I don’t want to be Australia’s foreign minister, and here’s why: I would not be good at promoting Australia’s current foreign policy to the world. That’s also why I stopped being a diplomat in 1996. (more…)
-
Framing the future: Australia’s China policy in the lead-up to the 2025 election
In the lead-up to the Australia election, new research examines the ALP and Coalition messaging and policy on the People’s Republic of China. (more…)
-
The Palestine election
Why has an election 6000 miles from the Dome of the Rock become about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? (more…)
-
A minority Labor Government’s policy agenda – Part 2
In this second part of this article, discussing the possible policy agenda for a minority Labor Government, the focus is on taxation and how to improve productivity – issues that are most difficult to agree on. (more…)
-
If I were defence minister…
On becoming Australia’s new defence minister, I will advise cabinet at its first meeting that our nation is at a perilous, strategic crossroad. (more…)
-
When I’m 65…
The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines anyone over 65 as “old”. You don’t qualify for the means tested “old age pension” for two more years, and when politicians talk of ageing, they focus on nursing homes and care, dementia and falls. Ageing policy is confused and confusing. (more…)
-
A minority Labor Government’s policy agenda – Part 1
A minority Labor Government is widely seen as a likely outcome in the forthcoming election. (more…)
-
Housing affordability: Which party has better policies?
The housing policies announced in this election by both the Labor and Coalition Parties are seriously flawed. (more…)
-
If I were minister for employment services: No more bastardry dressed up as policy
If I were minister for employment services, I’d begin by stating what should already be obvious: Australia’s employment services system is not fit for purpose. (more…)
-
AUKUS is more than nuclear submarines and that’s a problem
When we think of AUKUS, most people picture the dangerous $368 billion gamble on a handful of nuclear submarines. The truth is AUKUS is a lot more, and a lot more dangerous, than these submarines. (more…)
-
Health and the election: Band-aids when surgery is needed
Health policies are out and there is little difference between the two major parties. The policies definitely help patients afford to see GPs and get medication. (more…)
-
Australia urgently needs to get serious about long-term climate policy – but there’s no sign of that in the election campaign
The federal election should be an earnest contest over the fundamentals of Australia’s climate and energy policies. (more…)
-
Trump: a ridiculous ego and incredibly ignorant
The analysis underpinning Donald Trump’s tariff policy is fatally flawed. Thus, it will fail to achieve its objective of restoring the living standards of his MAGA supporters. (more…)
-
Good migration policy pays — this is what it looks like
Migration can continue to be a transformative benefit for Australia if it can look past the myths to develop policy that will pay off. (more…)
-
AUKUS turning point – Sydney Morning Herald calls for review
Since the AUKUS deal was signed in 2021 Pearls and Irritations has led a high-profile debate on the $368 billion deal, questioning whether it serves our interests. This week we saw a significant turning point. An editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald calls on the Australian Government to follow the UK lead, and launch an inquiry into the deal. Below is the full text of the editorial. (more…)
-
A statement by the minister for the environment in the new Australian Government
My fellow Australians: you cannot exist, and your grandkids will not exist without a safe, healthy, habitable Earth for us all to dwell upon. (more…)
-
If I was immigration minister, I would develop a population plan
If there is one thing politicians should have learnt in the last three years, it is that Australians expect them to manage long-term net migration and thus our rate of population growth. (more…)
-
How Australian education was captured by arms dealers
Australian universities, technical institutes and schools are becoming militarised. The power of defence industry money combined with government policy and public underfunding of education have created an avalanche of defence funding and profound influence over our education system and the people who emerge from it. (more…)
-
Albanese and housing 2022-25: hyperactivity without a plan
Yet again, as a federal election approaches, we look set for a national debate in which competing housing policy offers will take centre stage. The Greens began to unveil their pitch back in 2024 and the Coalition has now started to follow suit. (more…)
-
Small policy, big impact
It’s too early to predict the outcome of the election – notwithstanding the swing back to Labor reported by recent published polls. Anything could happen to change voting intentions in the last weeks of the campaign. (more…)
-
AUKUS – the bucktooth cousin hidden in election blather
In French, buck teeth are called dents à l’anglaise, literally “English teeth”. Stay with me. The connection to the old dart, France, and the dishonourable origins of AUKUS will be revealed. (more…)
-
‘It’s back to the (fossil fuel) future for Peter Dutton’
It’s only the first week – and if you thought Peter Dutton’s election campaign looks chaotic, dishevelled, and thin on policy substance, you’re right.
-
Medicare’s much-needed reform held hostage by vested interests: Michael Lester in conversation with John Menadue, AO
Access to affordable primary healthcare through GPs has collapsed, forcing more people to rely on overcrowded and understaffed public hospitals. These hospitals, meant to be a last resort, have instead become the costly default option. (more…)
-
Electricity prices – government and Coalition policies compared
It’s not much wonder that the public is confused about electricity pricing when journalists and politicians use the terms “prices” and “bills” interchangeably, and when Opposition spokespeople deliberately lie about the reasons electricity prices are high and make up ridiculous claims about how electricity prices and bills would tumble if they were elected. Peter Dutton’s speech in reply to the budget added to that confusion. (more…)
-
Israeli practices exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The Gaza Strip has witnessed catastrophic humanitarian crises during the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation. The war has caused widespread destruction of infrastructure, leading to the near-total collapse of the healthcare system and essential services. (more…)
-
The personification of politics
Reducing the complexities of international politics to the idiosyncratic personalities of world leaders suggests the Western media believes concision is an antidote to the short attention spans of readers, viewers and listeners. They may be right about this. (more…)
