On Sunday afternoon, we received the very sad news that Ali Kazak has died in Thailand, en route to Palestine. An extraordinary campaigner and shaper of the Palestinian cause for all his almost 80 years, his loss will be sorely felt. Stuart Rees wrote this tribute to Ali for Pearls and Irritations last November. More will follow in coming days. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Message from the editor
While most of the nation has reverted to paying little attention to federal politics, the town where I live (Canberra) has been soaking in it. Last week we witnessed three leadership contests (Greens, Nationals and Liberals) and one nasty stoush over the dumping of Cabinet ministers Ed Husic and Mark Dreyfus. (more…)
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Even once reluctant scholars now agree on Israel’s Gaza assault: It’s a genocide
“Can I name someone whose work I respect who doesn’t consider it genocide?” said one researcher. “No.” (more…)
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Pope Leo XIV and some unfinished business
In its 2017 Final Report, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended changes to canon law, the most important of which was the abolition of the pontifical secret over child sexual abuse by clergy. (more…)
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US decays; for Australia, independence beckons
Donald Trump is not an aberration, but rather a symptom of the disease, not its cause. (more…)
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Radio New Zealand’s report on its Israel-Gaza coverage is not credible
Radio New Zealand’s decision to conduct a review of its Israel-Palestine coverage post-7 October 2023 is commendable. (more…)
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The vanishing elders of Australian politics
Australia is ageing. An estimated 14% of our population is now over the age of 70 – more than one in seven citizens. (more…)
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The Trump coalition wants to end democracy as we know it
Four groups aim to degrade our one-person-one-vote election system so a few billionaires and certain religious zealots can consolidate their political power. (more…)
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Voice rejection sends Australia backwards
It was a dramatic return to the political stage! With the election underway, indigenous activist Noel Pearson broke a self-imposed silence which he had kept for 18 months since the failure of the referendum on the voice to parliament. (more…)
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Accountability and war reporting
Most reporting of Western wars and conflict — as with current reporting of Palestine and early reporting of Vietnam 50 years ago — is missing context and interpretation. (more…)
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How Myanmar’s devastating earthquake threatens to leave a lasting economic scar
The earthquake in central Myanmar poses serious risks to its fragile economy, with damages disrupting agriculture, trade and infrastructure. (more…)
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Trump’s attack on science risks dismantling a century of innovation
Restrictive visa policies, rhetoric targeting academic institutions and proposed budget cuts to scientific agencies mark the start of US retreat. (more…)
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Environment: Nations ignoring the need for a just transition to zero carbon
Eliminating greenhouse gas emissions is dangerously slow, but doing it in a fair, just and inclusive manner is all but non-existent. Climate change’s many harmful outcomes for women and girls includes more child marriages. Fishing doesn’t have to kill mammals and birds. (more…)
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Don’t stir Semar – He seeks harmony
Ancient Javanese mythology, often inherited from India and adapted to fit local culture, is rich with striking characters in the wayang kulit shadow puppet theatre. The fat-gut wise clown Semar is charged with maintaining stability. (more…)
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An open letter to Penny Wong seeking action on Palestine
Dear Minister,
Responding to war crimes committed against the Palestinian people
Congratulations on Labor’s achievement of another term of government. We hope this term will be one in which everything possible is done to promote, support and invest in peace, without which Australians – and others – cannot be secure. (more…)
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Ferocity, fitness and fast bowling: how Virat Kohli revolutionised Indian cricket
Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday. (more…)
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Judge orders release of Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri from ICE detention
“My only ‘crimes’ making me a ‘national security threat’ are my marriage to a United States citizen of Palestinian origin and my support for the Palestinian cause,” wrote Badar Khan Suri in an op-ed published on 13 May. (more…)
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Our humanity is lost under the rubble in Gaza
It is a Sunday evening, and I am shopping online. But there is a difference. (more…)
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Still waiting for the Asian Century? The world-system has moved on
Dr Allan Patience’s recent essay, “Australia’s misunderstanding of the Asian Century”, is a wake-up call we can no longer afford to ignore. (more…)
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Sussan Ley and gender politics
Apart from a slight uptick of hope when Malcolm Turnbull gained the leadership of the Liberal Party in September 2015, promising to bring “emotional intelligence” to the role, I have never wished the LNP anything but defeat and oblivion. (more…)
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Fear, censorship and repression are keeping Israelis in the dark about Gaza
The public’s indifference to what Israel is doing in the Gaza Strip is not just the result of a lack of care, but the result of the war Israel is waging against the possibility of knowing. (more…)
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Political parties can recover after a devastating election loss. But the Liberals will need to think differently
Australia has just had its second landslide election in a row. In 2022, there was a landslide against the Liberals, but not to Labor, which fell over the line (as a majority government) by three seats and with just more than 32% of the primary vote. (more…)
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China and renewable energy: Dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
China’s deployment of renewable energy technologies is spectacular and globally dominant, but is not its primary focus. (more…)
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As costs rise, poll shows most Americans blame Trump
“Working families are seeing their grocery bills and other prices skyrocketing thanks to President Trump’s erratic trade policies, and they know full well who is to blame,” said one critic. (more…)
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Support at Home: Immediate risks and urgent issues
Australia’s aged care system is gearing up for one of its biggest shake-ups yet. The Support at Home program, set to launch on 1 July, aims to merge existing in-home care arrangements into a single, streamlined, person-centred reform. Or at least, that’s the theory. (more…)
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Multiple Western press outlets have suddenly pivoted hard against Israel
After a year and a half of genocidal atrocities, the editorial boards of numerous British press outlets have suddenly come out hard against Israel’s genocidal onslaught in Gaza. (more…)
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It was supposed to be the cost-of-living election. But then Dutton showed up
Talk about the dog that didn’t bark. Cast your mind back to the distant days of the election campaign, and you’ll dimly remember how often we were told that polling revealed the only subject hard-pressed voters were interested in discussing was the cost of living. (more…)
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From nuclear to nature laws, here’s where Ley stands on four energy and environment flashpoints
Sussan Ley has been elected Liberal leader after defeating rival Angus Taylor in a party room vote on 13 May. Now the hard work of rebuilding the party can begin. (more…)
