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Pearls and Irritations

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Why at-risk children keep falling through the net

Why at-risk children keep falling through the net

Child protection and research systems rely on the presence of a functioning parent, leaving many of the most vulnerable children unseen and...

latest 7

Pearls and Irritations

Ruth Clare

Antisemitism inquiry interim report: we don’t need more terror laws – we need gun reform

Antisemitism inquiry interim report: we don’t need more terror laws – we need gun reform

The antisemitism inquiry interim report finds Australia already has extensive terrorism laws, while urging governments to move faster on long-delayed...

latest 7

Pearls and Irritations

Greg Barns

Francesca Albanese’s When the World Sleeps humanises Palestinian lives

Francesca Albanese’s When the World Sleeps humanises Palestinian lives

Francesca Albanese’s When the World Sleeps brings Palestinian lives into focus through personal stories of occupation, dispossession and resilience....

latest 8

Pearls and Irritations

Martin Kear

Loneliness is spreading – and modern life is driving it

Loneliness is spreading – and modern life is driving it

Loneliness is rising across all age groups, driven by shifts in work, technology, culture and social life that are weakening everyday human...

latest 6

Pearls and Irritations

Emily buck

Environment: Air pollution still kills almost eight million each year

Environment: Air pollution still kills almost eight million each year

Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause one in eight deaths, mainly in low income countries, climate change is bringing heatwaves and droughts together...

latest 4

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Sainsbury

A $25 billion offer? Inside Trump’s push to end the Hormuz crisis

A $25 billion offer? Inside Trump’s push to end the Hormuz crisis

Reports from Israeli sources suggest Donald Trump is considering a multibillion-dollar payment to Iran to end the Strait of Hormuz blockade, exposing...

previous day 6

Pearls and Irritations

Seymour Hersh

The ‘little’ things that matter – Message from the Editor

The ‘little’ things that matter – Message from the Editor

There were lots of ‘big’ stories this week, in the wider world and in P&I. The assassination attempt at the White House dinner, the...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Catriona Jackson

Why TikTok is being ruined by its new American owners

Why TikTok is being ruined by its new American owners

TikTok’s transformation under US ownership is reshaping it into a platform for censorship, AI exploitation and political influence, undermining free...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Alex Lo

Why a 73 year old Jew had himself arrested

Why a 73 year old Jew had himself arrested

After being arrested in Brisbane for wearing a T-shirt that read ‘Jews for a free Palestine from the river to the sea’, a 73-year-old Jewish...

previous day 2

Pearls and Irritations

Stephen Heydt

Independent media probably won’t benefit from the new social media tax

Independent media probably won’t benefit from the new social media tax

A proposed levy on tech giants could deliver hundreds of millions for Australian journalism, but current settings risk directing the funds to large...

previous day 4

Pearls and Irritations

Claire stuchbery

‘More destruction of science’: Trump fires every member of US National Science Board

‘More destruction of science’: Trump fires every member of US National Science Board

Donald Trump has dismissed every member of the National Science Board, escalating a broader push to dismantle independent scientific advice and cut...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Jake Johnson

The King’s speech: hereditary power comes to rescue democracy

The King’s speech: hereditary power comes to rescue democracy

King Charles’ address to the US Congress highlighted the tension between democratic ideals and inherited power, revealing deeper strains in the...

previous day 9

Pearls and Irritations

Stewart Sweeney

Supercharging our AI Safety Institute now could make all the difference

Supercharging our AI Safety Institute now could make all the difference

A modest increase in funding for Australia’s AI Safety Institute could position the country as a global leader in a fast-growing industry, while...

previous day 4

Pearls and Irritations

Kate chaney mp

The real war is misinformation – and it’s blocking climate action

The real war is misinformation – and it’s blocking climate action

A global disinformation campaign is undermining climate action, weakening democracy and posing a direct threat to human survival, according to new...

previous day 8

Pearls and Irritations

Julian Cribb

Trump is a product of the media age – and a master of it

Trump is a product of the media age – and a master of it

Donald Trump’s rise and rhetoric reflect a profound shift in how media shapes behaviour, power and public discourse in the digital age. President...

previous day 8

Pearls and Irritations

Patricia Edgar

Mission creep in the Gulf shows Australia hasn’t learned from past wars

Mission creep in the Gulf shows Australia hasn’t learned from past wars

Australia has again joined a US-led conflict with little transparency or debate, raising the risk of mission creep, economic costs and another...

previous day 9

Pearls and Irritations

Alison Broinowski

Contracting strategy to think tanks: catering to America’s fantasies of even more war

Contracting strategy to think tanks: catering to America’s fantasies of even more war

US think tanks play a central role in shaping military strategy and future conflicts, embedding a long-standing logic of war that allies are expected...

previous day 7

Pearls and Irritations

Michael Mckinley

Iran is holding the line – and the US strategy is unlikely to break it

Iran is holding the line – and the US strategy is unlikely to break it

Sixty days into the conflict, Iran has held its ground in the Strait of Hormuz, while US pressure has failed to force concessions – raising the risk...

previous day 9

Pearls and Irritations

Bob Bowker

Rethinking Australia’s place in the world in an era of fracture

Rethinking Australia’s place in the world in an era of fracture

As part of our Foreign Policy Rethink series, Joseph Camilleri sets out the case for breaking with a militarised, US-aligned mindset and building a...

previous day 8

Pearls and Irritations

Joseph Camilleri

The real war is misinformation – and it’s blocking climate action

The real war is misinformation – and it’s blocking climate action

A global disinformation campaign is undermining climate action, weakening democracy and posing a direct threat to human survival, according to new...

thursday 9

Pearls and Irritations

Julian Cribb

Trump is a product of the media age – and a master of it

Trump is a product of the media age – and a master of it

Donald Trump’s rise and rhetoric reflect a profound shift in how media shapes behaviour, power and public discourse in the digital age. President...

thursday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Patricia Edgar

Mission creep in the Gulf shows Australia hasn’t learned from past wars

Mission creep in the Gulf shows Australia hasn’t learned from past wars

Australia has again joined a US-led conflict with little transparency or debate, raising the risk of mission creep, economic costs and another...

thursday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Alison Broinowski

Contracting strategy to think tanks: catering to America’s fantasies of even more war

Contracting strategy to think tanks: catering to America’s fantasies of even more war

US think tanks play a central role in shaping military strategy and future conflicts, embedding a long-standing logic of war that allies are expected...

thursday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Michael Mckinley

Supercharging our AI Safety Institute now could make all the difference

Supercharging our AI Safety Institute now could make all the difference

A modest increase in funding for Australia’s AI Safety Institute could position the country as a global leader in a fast-growing industry, while...

thursday 7

Pearls and Irritations

Kate chaney mp

Iran is holding the line – and the US strategy is unlikely to break it

Iran is holding the line – and the US strategy is unlikely to break it

Sixty days into the conflict, Iran has held its ground in the Strait of Hormuz, while US pressure has failed to force concessions – raising the risk...

thursday 9

Pearls and Irritations

Bob Bowker

Rethinking Australia’s place in the world in an era of fracture

Rethinking Australia’s place in the world in an era of fracture

As part of our Foreign Policy Rethink series, Joseph Camilleri sets out the case for breaking with a militarised, US-aligned mindset and building a...

thursday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Joseph Camilleri

Australia risks weakening itself by overcorrecting on China

Australia risks weakening itself by overcorrecting on China
thursday 10

Pearls and Irritations

James Laurenceson

The unpromised land down under

The unpromised land down under
29.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Duncan Graham

The gig economy promises freedom. The reality is different

The gig economy promises freedom. The reality is different
29.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Adrian Rosenfeldt

Multiculturalism should shape Australia’s foreign policy

29.04.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Jocelyn Chey

Virtue, not values, defines who we are

Virtue, not values, defines who we are
29.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

George Browning

Open letter to the Prime Minister – Call for withdrawal of diplomatic relations with Israel

29.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Australians For Humanity

Wran showed how Labor can win and govern

Wran showed how Labor can win and govern
29.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Laurie Patton

Fossil fuel myths are slowing the energy transition

28.04.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Mark Diesendorf

Time for Premier Minns to “move on” his anti-protest laws

Time for Premier Minns to “move on” his anti-protest laws
28.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Shaoquett Moselmane

It’s time to tax gas exports in the national interest

It’s time to tax gas exports in the national interest
28.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Michael Keating

Australia can’t have self-reliant defence and nuclear submarines

Australia can’t have self-reliant defence and nuclear submarines
28.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Mike Gilligan

Major parties must adapt or be left behind

Major parties must adapt or be left behind
28.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Crispin Hull

Recapturing the decency dimension of Australian foreign policy

Recapturing the decency dimension of Australian foreign policy
28.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Gareth Evans

Nuclear disaster threat posed by war in sharp relief 40 years after Chernobyl

Nuclear disaster threat posed by war in sharp relief 40 years after Chernobyl
28.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Brad Reed

UQP has cancelled a children’s book, citing antisemitism

UQP has cancelled a children’s book, citing antisemitism
27.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Dennis Altman

Australia's foreign policy needs renovation, not demolition

Australia's foreign policy needs renovation, not demolition
27.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Varghese

PM urged to act as court clears path for Duggan extradition

PM urged to act as court clears path for Duggan extradition
27.04.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Paul Gregoire

We could have had fuel security by now. Let’s not make the same mistake twice

We could have had fuel security by now. Let’s not make the same mistake twice
27.04.2026 7

Pearls and Irritations

Tim Storer

The NDIS reform is a real test of Labor’s courage

The NDIS reform is a real test of Labor’s courage
27.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Jack Waterford

ANZAC Day: remembering the past, facing the present

ANZAC Day: remembering the past, facing the present

ANZAC Day honours service and sacrifice, but its deeper meaning lies in recognising the human cost of war and the responsibility to learn from it. The...

27.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Meg Schwarz

Australia and Japan need a new compact for comprehensive security

Australia and Japan need a new compact for comprehensive security
27.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Shiro Armstrong

Israel’s war obsession

Israel’s war obsession

Israel’s escalating wars reflect a long-standing strategy of military dominance, but recent conflicts are exposing its limits and internal...

27.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Ramzy Baroud

We may be making Australia’s fire problem worse – not better

We may be making Australia’s fire problem worse – not better

Research shows that logging, thinning and prescribed burning can increase forest flammability, challenging long-held assumptions about bushfire risk...

27.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

David Lindenmayer

Any sane foreign policy would put climate risks, not China, at centre stage

Any sane foreign policy would put climate risks, not China, at centre stage

Australia’s defence and foreign policy settings are focused on geopolitical rivalry, while far greater systemic risks – especially climate...

27.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

David Spratt