One Nation’s surge has exposed a new alignment of media, mining and political interests on the Australian right, with Gina Rinehart, Lachlan Murdoch and Pauline Hanson now central to how that contest unfolds. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Foreclosing on the future
A draft ruling on how research is funded in the Unites States aims to keep the scientific community on a very short leash. (more…)
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Belonging without assimilation: lessons from Prophet Muhammad’s life
Social cohesion is not built by erasing difference. As was demonstrated 1,400 years ago in the city of Medina, it is built by creating trust, justice and shared purpose across difference. (more…)
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Australia’s bookshops are disappearing – government can help
Independent bookshops are closing across Australia as costs rise and discount giants dominate sales, but policy options such as tax relief, GST reform and book pricing regulation could help protect the cultural role they play.
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Decolonising democracy – part six
In the sixth of an eight-part series, John Keane discusses the ramifications of the US withdrawal from international organisations on other democracies. (more…)
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Israel’s defenders should confront what is being done to Palestinians
Australia’s sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers have drawn accusations of antisemitism, but criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians must not be confused with hatred of Jewish people. (more…)
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Cricket’s real problem: Tests
Test cricket is in danger of being marginalised, now that the game is run by boards and financed by moguls. (more…)
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Should we bring back native forest logging? The answer is a clear no
Native forest logging is economically costly, environmentally damaging and socially divisive, and should not be revived in Victoria or Western Australia or maintained in Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. (more…)
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High Court strikes down Commonwealth on long-detained refugees
The High Court’s latest ruling on false imprisonment exposes the legal, financial and human consequences of Australia’s punitive immigration detention system, and the political refusal to abandon cruelty as policy. (more…)
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Hanson, Morrison and Trump: lies, fear, and how to fight back – Message from the Editor
Fear and panic aren’t just bad in themselves; they often lead to stasis. (more…)
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The Israeli army’s skewed scales of justice
Brigadier General Yisrael Shomer, head of the IDF Operations Division, has finally faced the consequences of his actions. (more…)
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Bowen’s electrification gospel has a truck-shaped problem
Australia is urging the world to electrify, but its own freight system remains overwhelmingly dependent on imported diesel when electric trucks could cut emissions, strengthen fuel security and lower costs. (more…)
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Star stuck government warned by security agencies
As SpaceX begins trading on the Nasdaq after a record-breaking IPO, Australia’s growing reliance on Starlink raises urgent questions about communications sovereignty, emergency services, security and space regulation. (more…)
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Decolonising democracy – part five
In the fifth of an eight-part series, John Keane says the declining US empire will manage without democracy as it turns on its own citizens. (more…)
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Why Pauline Hanson’s biggest weakness is her newest voters
One Nation’s surge is easiest to read as anger. It is better read through a different lens – gathering the Australians who formed their sense of who they are in an offline world, where belonging was anchored where they grew up. (more…)
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AUKUS and the case for no submarines
The case for AUKUS rests on treating submarines as essential to Australian sovereignty, while ignoring the broader defence capabilities that already protect Australia’s maritime approaches and raise serious questions about whether new submarines are needed at all. (more…)
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Reform is hard, but Labor should hold its nerve
The attacks on the government’s budget reforms may be loud, but polling suggests voters are more open to tax change than the media backlash implies – and governments that want to deliver serious reform have to withstand the noise. (more…)
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Is re-nationalisation the answer to Australia’s energy transition?
Australia’s renewable energy transition is being made more expensive by poor planning, fragmented market structures and ideological battles, when what is needed is a slower, more technically grounded assessment of how to keep the grid reliable and affordable.
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Israel accounted for most civilian deaths from explosive weapons in 2025
A new Explosive Weapons Monitor report finds civilians are continuing to bear the brunt of explosive weapons in populated areas, with Israel’s armed forces responsible for the majority of recorded civilian fatalities in 2025. (more…)
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SpaceX is the new East India Company
As SpaceX prepares to list on the Nasdaq tomorrow in what could be the largest IPO in history, its rise raises a deeper question: how much sovereign power governments are prepared to allow a private company to accumulate in space. (more…)
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The prison revolving door is costing lives
For people caught in the revolving door of prison, the risk of suicide often extends beyond custody, exposing the failure of justice, health and housing systems to support life after release.
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Technology unravels strategy and the weakness of AUKUS
Developments in technology, their consequences for strategic policy and challenges in sustaining Australia’s submarine warfare capability are the ultimate challenges to AUKUS. (more…)
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An open letter to the Minister for Home Affairs – Australia’s obligations to Palestinians must reach the visa system
In an open letter to the Minister for Home Affairs, Meg Schwarz argues that Australia’s obligations to Palestinians must be reflected not only in foreign policy statements, but in the practical systems that shape access to visas, scholarships and education. (more…)
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Why are voters cranky enough to turn to Hanson? I have a theory
One Nation’s polling surge reflects deeper disillusionment with the major parties, but the real test is whether Labor has the courage to press ahead with housing tax reform despite the inevitable scare campaign.
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America cannot shoot its way out of decline
Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget would not make the United States safer, but would divert resources from the education, infrastructure, research and resilience needed to rebuild national strength. (more…)
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Decolonising democracy – part four
In the fourth of an eight-part series, John Keane shows how the fading American empire is resorting to military solutions for its mounting global ills, without winning. (more…)
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Fifty years of ABC Classic and a nation still listening
ABC Classic’s fiftieth anniversary gives this year’s Classic 100 added resonance, celebrating not only great music but a shared cultural ritual that brings Australians together through listening.
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The Kentucky colonel who drives Australian foreign policy
Australia’s foreign policy is being distorted by AUKUS, militarised thinking and a misplaced faith in US power, when the country should be rebuilding its diplomatic strength as an independent middle power. (more…)
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If Support at Home is the answer, what is the problem?
Support at Home was meant to transform aged care, but its assessment and funding model has left older Australians waiting too long, paying too much and receiving services shaped by budgets rather than need. (more…)
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Zia Ahmad’s OAM honours a lifetime of community journalism
This week Zia Ahmad – a regular contributor to P&I – became the first Muslim to receive the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to journalism – and the second member of his family to receive the nation’s highest civilian honour.