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Ita Buttrose reflects on her life in media – well, some of it

Ita Buttrose reflects on her life in media – well, some of it

Ita Buttrose’s memoir celebrates resilience, leadership and public service, but avoids reckoning with controversies that shaped her later career,...

latest 9

Pearls and Irritations

Denis Muller

Led Zeppelin, my band that never ‘made it’, and the lost art of failure

Led Zeppelin, my band that never ‘made it’, and the lost art of failure

Our culture treats success as virtue and failure as personal flaw. Older traditions – from Greek tragedy to Christian thought – saw failure as...

latest 8

Pearls and Irritations

Adrian Rosenfeldt

Environment: It’s official – we aren’t winning the climate fight

The latest UN climate summit avoided even naming fossil fuels, while mounting evidence shows climate damage accelerating – from melting glaciers to...

latest 8

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Sainsbury

Faith that costs something: the Pope's challenge to comfortable Christianity

Faith that costs something: the Pope's challenge to comfortable Christianity

A new Vatican document challenges wealthy Catholics to move beyond charity toward justice, solidarity and real encounters with the poor. Pope Leo...

latest 8

Pearls and Irritations

John Singarayar

New architecture, old assumptions: Australia and the China question

New architecture, old assumptions: Australia and the China question

Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks of balance, equality and a new regional order – yet Australia’s China policy still carries Cold War assumptions...

latest 7

Pearls and Irritations

Ronald C. Keith

You can’t regulate your way to quality early childhood education

You can’t regulate your way to quality early childhood education

Recent safety failures have triggered tighter regulation in early childhood education and care. But compliance alone cannot deliver quality. Real...

yesterday 7

Pearls and Irritations

Roger Chao

Why Australia should build AI to amplify human capability

Why Australia should build AI to amplify human capability

Debates about artificial intelligence miss a crucial point: the real issue is not whether AI is powerful, but whether we use it to replace human...

yesterday 7

Pearls and Irritations

John H Howard

Silencing Starlink over Taiwan would be a massive military challenge

Silencing Starlink over Taiwan would be a massive military challenge

Chinese scientists have modelled how Starlink could be jammed over an area the size of Taiwan – and found it would take an unprecedented scale of...

yesterday 8

Pearls and Irritations

Stephen Chen

A Chinese visit, a security panic, and a silent media

A Chinese visit, a security panic, and a silent media

The visit of China’s third-ranking leader should have prompted serious discussion about diplomacy and economic relations. Instead, Australia’s...

yesterday 7

Pearls and Irritations

John Queripel

Why false beliefs feel safer than the truth

Why false beliefs feel safer than the truth

People clinging to falsehoods is not a failure of intelligence, but a deeply human attempt to protect emotional stability in an overwhelming world....

yesterday 7

Pearls and Irritations

John Frew

Hong Kong tower fire – contractor for fire-hit Tai Po project has record of safety offences

Hong Kong tower fire – contractor for fire-hit Tai Po project has record of safety offences

The contractor behind renovation work at the site of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades had previously breached safety requirements for construction...

yesterday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Lam Ka Sing

Gaza’s true death toll could be 126,000 or even higher

Gaza’s true death toll could be 126,000 or even higher

New research suggests Gaza’s death toll may be far higher than widely reported, with devastating implications for life expectancy, poverty and...

yesterday 1

Pearls and Irritations

Brad Reed

A long-overdue update to Australia’s broken environment laws

A long-overdue update to Australia’s broken environment laws

After years of delay, Australia will reform its broken environment laws. The deal brings real improvements, but key risks remain. After years of...

yesterday 7

Pearls and Irritations

Justine Bell-James

Indigenous businesses are driving jobs and economic success

Indigenous businesses are driving jobs and economic success

A new report shows Indigenous businesses are major employers, highly competitive, and delivering strong outcomes – often without reliance on...

yesterday 6

Pearls and Irritations

Noel Turnbull

Why Medicare needs joint federal–state hospitals

Why Medicare needs joint federal–state hospitals

Medicare’s founding promise is failing millions as jurisdictional division leaves patients stuck on waiting lists and priced out of specialist care....

previous day 30

Pearls and Irritations

Graeme Stewart

Trump is melting down: Is this the beginning of the end?

Trump is melting down: Is this the beginning of the end?

Mental health professionals are warning that Donald Trump’s behaviour poses serious risks to democratic governance and international security – yet...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Melvin Goodman

How 'deep links' journalism fuels pointless China panic

How 'deep links' journalism fuels pointless China panic

A former MP takes on a routine lobbying role, a Chinese university is named, and suddenly we are in national security territory. This is framing...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Fred Zhang

Why Labor can’t be bold without confronting tax reform

Why Labor can’t be bold without confronting tax reform

If the Albanese government wants to deliver lasting reform – in education, healthcare, housing and climate – it will have to confront the hardest...

previous day 2

Pearls and Irritations

Michael Keating

What does Labor actually stand for in the Albanese era?

What does Labor actually stand for in the Albanese era?

Sean Kelly’s Quarterly Essay The Good Fight asks a harder question than whether Labor is governing competently – it asks whether it still knows...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Dennis Altman

Trying teenagers as adults won’t fix youth crime

Trying teenagers as adults won’t fix youth crime

Victoria’s proposal to send 14–17 year olds into adult courts ignores international law, expert evidence and decades of failed policy....

previous day 8

Pearls and Irritations

Annette Alexander-Fliegner

Welcome to BunkerWorld – home of the rich and fearful

Welcome to BunkerWorld – home of the rich and fearful

From luxury bunkers to billionaire boltholes, the world’s richest are planning for collapse rather than preventing it. Julian Cribb argues this...

previous day 9

Pearls and Irritations

Julian Cribb

When evidence stops leading policy-making

When evidence stops leading policy-making

The Coalition has walked away from evidence. Labor still listens – but only up to the point where action becomes politically uncomfortable. That...

previous day 9

Pearls and Irritations

Stewart Sweeney

ASIO’s $12.5 billion espionage bill doesn’t add up

ASIO’s $12.5 billion espionage bill doesn’t add up

ASIO says espionage cost Australia $12.5 billion last year. But that figure relies on assumptions, speculative scenarios and opaque data that raise...

previous day 9

Pearls and Irritations

David Higginbottom

Why Australia needs a political party for the under-40s

Why Australia needs a political party for the under-40s

With most Australians increasingly voting outside the major parties, Ian Bowrey argues it’s time for a new political force that genuinely...

previous day 8

Pearls and Irritations

Ian Bowrey

How the social media ban could harm African diaspora youth

How the social media ban could harm African diaspora youth

New research shows Australia’s under-16 social media ban risks harming African diaspora young people by cutting off vital spaces for identity,...

previous day 3

Pearls and Irritations

Claire Moran

Nature doesn't have an offset account

Nature doesn't have an offset account

Australia’s climate and biodiversity laws rely heavily on offset markets that treat ecosystems as interchangeable. But nature is not fungible, and...

thursday 2

Pearls and Irritations

Rhiannon Schembri

Chip wars: how the Dutch government nearly crashed the global car industry

Chip wars: how the Dutch government nearly crashed the global car industry

When the Dutch government seized Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, it triggered a global supply scare, revealing how deeply Europe is trapped...

thursday 1

Pearls and Irritations

Eugene Doyle

Australia’s Christmas double standards on Palestine

Australia’s Christmas double standards on Palestine

As Palestinians face another winter of displacement and bombardment, Australia celebrates Christmas while ignoring its own obligations under...

thursday 1

Pearls and Irritations

Stuart Rees

After Gaza, the next target is Iran

After Gaza, the next target is Iran

US–Israel manoeuvring over Gaza is already widening the conflict. As Sudan burns and propaganda intensifies, Iran may be the next target — with...

thursday 2

Pearls and Irritations

Alison Broinowski

How Trump tried to sell Ukraine a diplomatic debacle

How Trump tried to sell Ukraine a diplomatic debacle

Two rival peace proposals for Ukraine have emerged – one from the US, echoing long-standing Russian demands, and another from Europe. Kyiv has...

thursday 2

Pearls and Irritations

Matthew Sussex

Non-aligned and successful: Indonesia’s lesson for Australian foreign policy

Non-aligned and successful: Indonesia’s lesson for Australian foreign policy

Australia’s new security agreement with Indonesia comes at a critical moment. Jakarta’s non-aligned tradition offers lessons for a country still...

thursday 1

Pearls and Irritations

Allan Patience

Gaza’s economy has collapsed beyond recognition

Gaza’s economy has collapsed beyond recognition

Gaza’s economy, society and basic infrastructure have been almost entirely wiped out. With 90 per cent of people displaced, food systems destroyed...

thursday 20

Pearls and Irritations

Refaat Ibrahim

The Dismissal at 50: Albanese condemns the past but avoids real reform

The Dismissal at 50: Albanese condemns the past but avoids real reform

Anthony Albanese condemned the 1975 Dismissal as a partisan ambush. Yet he refuses to pursue the constitutional reforms needed to prevent another...

thursday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Paddy Gourley

Independent media is essential – and we urgently need your help

Independent media is essential – and we urgently need your help

We urgently need your financial support. We have raised only $78,000 towards our goal of $250,000 by mid-December. Independent media is more...

thursday 3

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue

The inflation myth propping up private school privilege

The inflation myth propping up private school privilege

Private schools regularly blame inflation for rising fees, yet funding arrangements mean they are largely compensated for cost increases. Their...

thursday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Jim Mcmorrow

Why Indonesia’s new criminal rules matter

Why Indonesia’s new criminal rules matter

Indonesia’s overhaul of its Criminal Procedure Code could modernise justice – or entrench a system where police power expands, judicial oversight...

26.11.2025 4

Pearls and Irritations

Kurniawan Arif Maspul

Self-interest is now the main driver of Britain’s Asia policy

Self-interest is now the main driver of Britain’s Asia policy

There are a great many reasons why the UK government should pay more attention to the Asia-Pacific, but that does not mean that it will. A recent...

26.11.2025 4

Pearls and Irritations

Bill Hayton

Making First Nations prisoners visible in Labor politics

Making First Nations prisoners visible in Labor politics

Despite Western Australian Labor’s rhetoric on equality and Closing the Gap, incarcerated First Nations people remain politically invisible....

26.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Jane Anderson

Conservatism, denial and the climate crisis: why short-term thinking is holding us back

Conservatism, denial and the climate crisis: why short-term thinking is holding us back

Human societies are generally conservative, averse to substantial change – and they are getting in the way of the necessary intervention on climate...

26.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Chas Keys

Why multicultural aged care is the key to meeting Australia’s ageing challenge

Why multicultural aged care is the key to meeting Australia’s ageing challenge

Australia’s ageing population is growing faster than the systems built to support it, especially for culturally and linguistically diverse...

26.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Mainul Haque

Ukraine and Europe’s weakness exposed as US and Russia again negotiate behind Kyiv’s back

Ukraine and Europe’s weakness exposed as US and Russia again negotiate behind Kyiv’s back

Ukraine now faces military pressure, political scandal and wavering Western support – a mix that could trigger a dangerous self-fulfilling crisis....

26.11.2025 3

Pearls and Irritations

Stefan Wolff

Western Australia is rich, but it's not the economic powerhouse it claims to be

Western Australia is rich, but it's not the economic powerhouse it claims to be

Western Australian politicians claim the state is the “powerhouse” of the national economy and deserves an outsized share of GST revenue. The ABS...

26.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Without peer in Australian media – Geoff Raby

Without peer in Australian media – Geoff Raby

Former Australian Ambassador to China and senior diplomat Geoff Raby commends Pearls and Irritations Pearls & Irritations has become indispensable...

26.11.2025 3

Pearls and Irritations

Geoff Raby

Why Australia’s pro-globalisation consensus endures

Why Australia’s pro-globalisation consensus endures

Australia’s post-pandemic politics may look more divided, but fears of a rising populist backlash are overstated. Demographics, institutions and...

26.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Shiro Armstrong

Why the trauma community must break its silence on Gaza

Why the trauma community must break its silence on Gaza

As Gaza reels from unimaginable physical and psychological harm, the global trauma healing community has remained largely silent. Breaking that...

26.11.2025 2

Pearls and Irritations

Annabel Mcgoldrick

Senate committee on disinformation should look into the Liberals' energy policy: It is full of it

Senate committee on disinformation should look into the Liberals' energy policy: It is full of it

The Liberal Party’s new energy policy recycles discredited claims and fossil fuel talking points, undermining public trust and delaying the...

25.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Giles Parkinson

The wisdom of the elders, the greed of the rich

The wisdom of the elders, the greed of the rich

As the planet spirals toward environmental collapse, elders like Attenborough, Earle, Hansen and Suzuki have spent decades warning us – and...

25.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Julian Cribb

Massacres, memory and the Memorial: facing our most deadly war

Massacres, memory and the Memorial: facing our most deadly war

The evidence is overwhelming – Australia’s Frontier Wars were real, deadly, and long, and a landmark new book lays it out in full. So when will the...

25.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Noel Turnbull

AI in journalism and democracy: can we rely on it?

AI in journalism and democracy: can we rely on it?

GenAI tools are reshaping the information environment in ways most audiences never see. From the data that trains them to the labour that maintains...

25.11.2025 2

Pearls and Irritations

Jake Goldenfein

The ceasefire that isn’t: 400 violations in 40 days

The ceasefire that isn’t: 400 violations in 40 days

Israel has violated the ceasefire in Gaza hundreds of times since October, using vague or unverified justifications to carry out strike in a...

25.11.2025 1

Pearls and Irritations

Refaat Ibrahim