In the wake of the Bondi attack and the visit of Israel’s president, governments claimed to be defending social cohesion. What followed instead were expanded police powers, legislated language, and a narrowing of democratic rights – exposing how conditional Australia’s freedoms can be. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Global growth in 2026 will be led overwhelmingly by Asia
China and India are set to account for more than 40 per cent of global GDP growth in 2026, with the Asia-Pacific region responsible for nearly 60 per cent. The data confirms a long-term shift in economic power that Australia’s politics and media remain slow to recognise. (more…)
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Playing deputy sheriff on Taiwan comes with costs Australia will wear
Calls for Australia to take a more forward-leaning stance on Taiwan repeat a familiar pattern – moral symbolism paired with strategic vagueness. Past experience suggests the applause is loud, but the economic consequences are real and largely borne alone. (more…)
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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.
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Handshake diplomacy with Prabowo won’t secure shared values
Australia’s new security treaty with Indonesia is heavy on symbolism but light on substance. As President Prabowo Subianto tightens his grip on power, warm rhetoric from Canberra risks obscuring growing democratic regression and human rights abuses. (more…)
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Bad Bunny, good neighbour
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance was a cultural moment at the centre of American life that exposed a deeper political truth – while music celebrates belonging across borders, US foreign policy continues to enforce domination through sanctions, blockades and collective punishment.
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Australia’s political and media elites are losing control of the story
Australia’s political and media establishments are struggling to adapt to a world where narratives can no longer be tightly managed. And attempts to restore authority through censorship, moral panic and regulation are deepening public alienation rather than restoring trust. (more…)
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Dragged from prayer – how Muslim belonging became conditional in Australia
The police pulling Muslim men from prayer during protests against Isaac Herzog’s visit exposes how fragile Muslim belonging has become in Australia. Shaymaa Elkadi argues this was not a failure of judgment, but a political choice. (more…)
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Who will prosecute Geoffrey Robertson’s peerless plan for peace?
In his new book Geoffrey Robertson argues the UN Security Council can no longer defend democracy and proposes a new alliance of democratic states. The diagnosis is compelling – the path forward far less clear. (more…)
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Environment: The energy transition is underway – nuclear is not part of it
Nuclear is going nowhere, fossils are facing a bleak future and renewables are surging to the future. A Rich Polluter Profit Tax and an Excess Profit Tax would raise over US$1 trillion each year. (more…)
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A loneliness crisis is the price China is paying for rapid modernisation
China’s Spring Festival masks a deeper social problem. Beneath the world’s largest annual migration lies a growing crisis of loneliness shaped by migration, inequality and institutional design.
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Jon Kudelka’s cartoons mattered – and so did his refusal to look away
Jon Kudelka’s influence went far beyond award-winning cartoons. Lindsay Foyle reflects on a career marked by sharp political insight and principles. (more…)
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Genocide is the story, not antisemitism
The Australian government’s response to Gaza, and its handling of President Isaac Herzog’s visit, has blurred the line between antisemitism and criticism of Israel. The result is deeper division, weaker democracy and greater risk to Jewish communities. (more…)
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Lai sentenced, Beijing doubles down on HK security – Asian Media Report
China’s ‘zero tolerance’ white paper to Takaichi’s all-powerful supermajority, opposite views on India-US trade deal, why BYD is beating Tesla, Cambodia war a key to Thai PM’s victory, and the K-pop path for Bad Bunny – news, opinion and analysis from across our region (more…)
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How did the Liberals’ first female leader find herself on the mat in under a year?
Sussan Ley’s rapid collapse as Liberal leader reflects her own limitations – but also a party struggling with factional dominance, ideological fracture and relentless polling panic. (more…)
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Victoria’s school funding deal locks in inequality
Victoria’s latest school funding agreement freezes public schools below the Schooling Resource Standard, formalising stagnation while preserving the language of reform. Delay is not neutral – it compounds disadvantage and entrenches inequality. (more…)
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From pride to fear – how police violence changed how we see Australia
Toya Adams and Laurie Shears describe attending the Sydney protest against President Herzog’s visit – and how police violence left them fearful, shocked and questioning Australia’s democratic foundations. (more…)
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Judge rebukes US defence secretary over bid to silence retired veteran
A federal judge has blocked an attempt by the US defence secretary to punish a retired naval officer and senator for speaking out, delivering a sharp rebuke to efforts to narrow constitutional protections for veterans. (more…)
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Grace Tame, free speech and the return of political punishment
Calls to strip Grace Tame of her Australian of the Year award over her protest speech highlight a troubling slide towards political punishment and selective free speech.
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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. (more…)
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Angus Taylor looks like a leader on paper – but the job is bigger than that
Angus Taylor has all the on-paper qualifications to be opposition leader. But what’s needed now is a miracle worker to lift the struggling Liberal Party from its existential crisis. (more…)
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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.
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Counting protesters down – how the Adelaide protest against Herzog was reported
The Adelaide protest against the visit of Israel’s president drew thousands and passed peacefully. Yet its treatment in the media raises familiar questions about whose voices are amplified, whose are minimised, and how protest is framed for public consumption.
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The Epstein case: power, institutions and the question for Australia
The Jeffrey Epstein case is often treated as an exceptional crime enabled by extraordinary wealth. In reality, it reveals how institutions respond when allegations threaten powerful people – and why Australia should not assume it would act differently. (more…)
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Saving Meanjin is a victory – sustaining it is the real test
Meanjin’s return to Brisbane under QUT stewardship has been widely welcomed, but it also exposes deeper tensions about arts funding, cultural value and what sustainability really means for literary journals.
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Is Hanson planning to copy Trump on mass deportation?
One Nation’s promise to deport 75,000 undocumented migrants echoes Donald Trump’s approach, but the logistics, costs and risks of such a policy are far greater than the rhetoric suggests.
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Message from the Editor-in-Chief
Pearls and Irritations is entering a new phase, with Editor-in-Chief John Menadue stepping back from day-to-day leadership and new appointments strengthening our future. (more…)
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Do we really need a Minister for Social Cohesion?
Calls for a new Minister for Social Cohesion reflect anxiety about Australia’s civic health, but risk mistaking rhetorical panic for structural failure – and policy symbolism for effective governance.
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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.
