From the erosion of Western authority to Australia’s election result, 2025 exposed deep shifts in global power, alliance politics and the limits of domestic reform.
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Category: Politics
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2025 in Review: The fading West, a cautious Labor win and an uncertain world
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Message from the Editor
I hope you have had time to read our offerings on the terrible shootings at Bondi this week. Amidst a thicket of coverage, here and overseas, many readers were struggling to process the tragic events. (more…)
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This one’s on Netanyahu, not Albanese
The Bondi massacre sits within a wider international context that has reshaped public attitudes to Israel, antisemitism and protest, complicating how grief, fear and responsibility are understood in Australia. (more…)
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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. (more…)
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What Australia’s teen social media ban could mean for reading
As under-16s are locked out of major social media platforms, online book communities that helped many teens discover reading are disappearing too. What’s being lost, and what might replace it?
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Vulnerability at the heart of Christmas
Christmas begins with fragility rather than power. The story of Jesus’ birth places vulnerability, dependence and shared humanity at its centre. (more…)
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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. (more…)
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Australia’s roads are full of giant cars, and everyone pays the price
Australia’s growing love affair with SUVs and utes is reshaping road safety. Larger vehicles don’t just cause more harm in crashes – they may also change how drivers behave. (more…)
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Cost of wind and batteries fall as CSIRO finds new way to show renewables are cheapest
CSIRO’s latest GenCost report shows battery costs falling fast, wind costs stabilising and coal, gas and nuclear lagging well behind. For the seventh year running, firmed renewables remain the lowest-cost path for Australia’s electricity system. (more…)
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Holding on to hope – a Christmas reflection
In the shadow of the Bondi massacre, Christmas and Hanukkah sit side by side this year. Acts of courage and faith remind us how light is kept alive in dark times.
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A defence of ‘doing nothing’
Public safety can be strengthened without turning fear into a political performance. When protection becomes theatre, institutions weaken and social division deepens.
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Assange sues Nobel Foundation to stop war-promoting Machado from receiving Peace prize cash
Julian Assange has filed a legal complaint seeking to block Nobel Peace Prize funds from being paid to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado over her support for US military actions.
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Environment: More good recycling is needed – emphasis on good
Low levels of plastic recycling are bad for human health and the environment. For lead, high levels of dangerous recycling are doing the damage. Northern Australia’s vast, ecologically relatively intact savannas are undervalued. (more…)
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How much does it cost to end rough sleeping? An Australian-first study may have just found out
Homelessness in Australia is worsening, with services stuck in crisis mode. Evidence from Finland – and new research in SA and WA – shows a different path is possible.
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Bondi demands answers – and a Royal Commission
Revelations about overseas training, intelligence failures and police responses raise urgent questions that cannot be left to internal reviews. (more…)
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China has neither the intent nor the capability to attack us
Australia faces no credible military threat from China. The real danger lies in uncritical alignment with US strategy, fear-driven rhetoric and the steady erosion of national sovereignty. (more…)
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Beijing makes domestic spending its top priority – Asian Media Report
From China’s new investing in people strategy to Thailand’s threat to continue border fighting, revelations about Korea’s martial law bid, South Asia’s climate emergencies, the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh, and Seoul’s imaginative food waste scheme, the latest Asian media coverage highlights our region’s pressures, problems and opportunities. (more…)
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Choosing hope in an uncertain world
In an age of political, ecological and social strain, hope is often mistaken for denial. But real hope is neither passive nor naïve – it is a choice to keep acting, even without guarantees. (more…)
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What the Bondi Beach tragedy reveals about Australia’s political faultlines
In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach attack, grief was quickly accompanied by political demands that blurred the line between combating antisemitism and suppressing dissent, with troubling consequences for social cohesion and civil liberties.
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Why did Trump send his warships to Venezuela?
As US pressure on Venezuela intensifies, Washington is reviving an openly interventionist approach to Latin America. The targets extend beyond Caracas to the region as a whole.
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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. (more…)
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Shrinking East Asia needs a safety net
East Asia has led the global recovery since the pandemic, but deep welfare imbalances are now threatening the sustainability of its growth model. (more…)
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Bondi raises questions about ASIO’s community intelligence reach
The Bondi attack has renewed scrutiny of whether Australia’s domestic intelligence agencies have sufficient cultural reach and human intelligence within the communities they monitor. (more…)
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Chile swerves to the right and into the past
José Antonio Kast’s election marks the first time since Chile’s return to democracy that an admirer of the dictatorship has reached the presidency. The implications run deep. (more…)
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A better symbol
After the Bondi massacre, grief was swiftly overtaken by politics. Public mourning and the misuse of symbols raise hard questions about solidarity, power and what genuinely brings light. (more…)
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Pearlcast: a year that overturned the old certainties
As 2025 draws to a close, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions. But in the latest episode of our podcast Pearlcast, that impulse is firmly resisted. (more…)
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Radar lock or editorial block? The ABC’s China-Japan report has blind spot
A story published by the ABC framed a military encounter as an act of aggression. But subsequent details told a more complicated story that Australia’s public broadcaster never revisited. (more…)
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MYEFO leaves the hard work on inflation, debt and budget repair undone
The latest MYEFO shows only marginal improvement in the budget outlook, while deficits persist and fiscal settings continue to complicate the Reserve Bank’s task. (more…)
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2025 in Review: Palestine, international law and Australia’s silence
In 2025, the crisis in Palestine brought international law to a breaking point. Australia’s response, marked by caution and inaction, raises hard questions about responsibility, principle and moral leadership. (more…)
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Storms expose Gaza’s humanitarian collapse
Heavy rains and gale-force winds have turned life-threatening for Palestinians in Gaza, where the destruction of housing and restrictions on aid have left millions without shelter. (more…)