Anthony Albanese is falling back into the sort of bad habits that could bring him down as Labor leader. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Is there any hope for a fairer carve-up of GST between the states?
When the Western Australian Government handed down its state budget on Thursday, it showed a balance sheet solidly in the black with a $2.5 billion surplus. But, as it has for seven years, the state has received an outsized boost to its coffers from the federal government. (more…)
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Iran retaliating against US inevitable as window for diplomacy narrows: analysts
Tehran’s options include striking US military assets with ballistic missiles and exiting a nuclear treaty to “save face”. (more…)
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Israel’s war with Iran exposes fragility of Jewish supremacy
Netanyahu’s government is ceding violence against its own people in order to obscure its lack of political power. (more…)
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War is the worst thing in the world
War is the worst thing in the world. It is the single craziest behaviour exhibited by humans. The most destructive. The most traumatising. The least sustainable. The least conducive to human thriving. (more…)
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Trump’s disruption in Canada leaves the G7 at a crossroads
It could have been worse – much worse. US President Donald Trump’s early exit from Kananaskis and the G7 Summit — that he declared was necessary to deal with the Israel–Iran war — left Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with his summit largely intact. (more…)
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Neocolonialism, media propaganda, never-ending wars: Served with ketchup and fries – Part 2
In the 20th-century the American empire realised it could no longer rely solely on military might despite its need to grow the Military Industrial Complex, which remains central to its economy and its political hegemony. (more…)
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Peace no more war: A permanent solution for United Nations
It is so sad to see that wars keep flaring up here and there. We are all supposed to be living in a modern civilised, well governed world order under the GUIDANCE of the almighty PEACE Charter of United Nations designed by our farsighted forefathers after the Second World War. (more…)
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Message from the editor
One of the things that sets Pearls and Irritations apart is the calibre of our contributors. (more…)
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Chalmers hints at more tax reform – What should we do first? Part 2
In the second of a two-part series Saul Eslake looks at what the top priorities for tax reform should be. (more…)
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Trump most unpopular president in presidential polling history
Donald Trump is definitely exceptional – so exceptional that he is now the most unpopular president in the history of presidential polling. (more…)
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The unravelling of American exceptionalism: The inevitable decay of hegemony built on crassness – Part 1
In early May 2025, as Roman Catholic Cardinals gathered to pick the next Pope, US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of him as the Pope shortly after saying, “I would like to be Pope.” (more…)
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International survey shows 81% back forcing big oil to pay for climate destruction
“People are no longer buying the lies. They see the fingerprints of fossil fuel giants all over the storms, floods, droughts, and wildfires devastating their lives, and they want accountability,” said the head of one green group. (more…)
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Pregnancy as a death sentence
Genuine good news stories involving government initiatives are rare. Here’s an exception. (more…)
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Start at the bottom to build housing
Starting at the bottom is the way to rebalance Australia’s housing system. (more…)
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How Albanese could save the world
Yes, it does sound a bit unlikely, but so does bringing order to an international order in crisis. (more…)
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The real national emergency: Endless wars, failing infrastructure and a dying republic
Seventy years after President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about the cost of a military-industrial complex, America is still stealing from its own people to fund a global empire. (more…)
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Chalmers hints at more tax reform – What should we do first? Part 1
In the first of a two-part series Saul Eslake examines what the top tax reform priorities should be. (more…)
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Writers bearing witness in a time of genocide
I’ve been thinking a lot about an honours thesis I wrote more than 20 years ago, that thing you sweated through, that maybe your mother skimmed, that you stuck in the back of a cupboard somewhere never to be read or thought of again. (more…)
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Environment: Murray-Darling Plan delivers profits, but not environmental improvement
Murray-Darling Plan has achieved five of seven economic goals but only 2 of 12 environmental ones. Will climate change be good or bad for the economy? Nations’ current emissions reduction policies unlikely to keep global warming under 2oC. (more…)
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Aboriginal-Chinese roots of reconciliation: China’s first cultural envoys in Australia
As Australia marked Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June ), a landmark exhibition at the National Museum of Australia reminds us that Indigenous–Chinese bonds helped forge the links between the two peoples long before Canberra and Beijing formalised diplomacy in 1972. (more…)
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US brain drain set to gather pace as academics seek posts outside Trump’s America
Increasing numbers of scientists are eyeing opportunities in Australia, Canada, China and Europe amid threatened cuts to funding. (more…)
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A new cold war is sweeping across Europe – with global repercussions
The last three and more years have seen the bloodiest war on European soil for the better part of 80 years. (more…)
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IDF actions in Gaza directly contradict Jewish ethical tradition
The Israeli response to the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 has been massive and all-encompassing. (more…)
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Thai Government in turmoil over embarrassing call – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Party quits Thailand’s governing coalition. Plus: Cambodia named a global cyberscam hub; Japanese PM empty-handed after Trump meeting; US tariff regime a critical test for ASEAN; New efforts to ease two-Koreas tensions; Indonesia revises history of anti-Chinese riots. (more…)
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Australia’s trade survival depends on beating Trump’s tariff contagion
How does Canberra cope in a world that threatens to spin off into competing blocs and help shape a world that preserves multilateralism, even if the United States is not a constructive part of it? (more…)
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News Corp’s China obsession: why beating the drum is easier than thinking
Introducing our new columnist Fred Zhang, who brings you his take on the way the Australian media reports and/or mis- and under- reports on China. (more…)
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AUKUS submarines would be obsolete before Australia gets them
Before the drawings have been completed, new detection technology has already made RN SSN AUKUS obsolete. (more…)
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Beyond the rhetoric: Youth and anti-corruption efforts in Indonesia
If Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was known for his Nawacita (nine goals), his successor Prabowo Subianto is introducing Astacita — an approach centred on eight strategic agendas, one of which focuses on eliminating corruption. (more…)
