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Pearls and Irritations

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Lovin’ democracy? You’re probably doing all right, then

Lovin’ democracy? You’re probably doing all right, then
latest 10

Pearls and Irritations

Ross Gittins

The forgotten war Australia would rather not remember

The forgotten war Australia would rather not remember
latest 10

Pearls and Irritations

Paddy Gourley

Poorly designed campaign finance laws weaken our democracy

Poorly designed campaign finance laws weaken our democracy
latest 2

Pearls and Irritations

Simon Holmes À Court

The return of great power relations: a world of bounded orders – Part 2

The return of great power relations: a world of bounded orders – Part 2
latest 1

Pearls and Irritations

Geoff Raby

Non-discrimination is a core Australian value. We must defend it

Non-discrimination is a core Australian value. We must defend it
latest 3

Pearls and Irritations

Steph Cousins

Tune in, turn on, and drop out: the case for legalising psychedelics is stronger than ever

Tune in, turn on, and drop out: the case for legalising psychedelics is stronger than ever
latest 10

Pearls and Irritations

Greg Barns

Tehran demands hundreds of billions in reparations. Guess who will pay?

Tehran demands hundreds of billions in reparations. Guess who will pay?
latest 10

Pearls and Irritations

Eugene Doyle

The return of great power relations: What can middle powers do? Part 1

The return of great power relations: What can middle powers do? Part 1
yesterday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Geoff Raby

The diesel shock shows why government must help freight electrify

The diesel shock shows why government must help freight electrify
yesterday 2

Pearls and Irritations

Bruce Hardy

A prime-time hit job on renewables falls apart under basic facts

A prime-time hit job on renewables falls apart under basic facts
yesterday 9

Pearls and Irritations

Giles Parkinson

On immigration, we’ve heard this before – and we were wrong then too

On immigration, we’ve heard this before – and we were wrong then too
yesterday 2

Pearls and Irritations

Desmond Manderson

Study warns of terrifying Atlantic Ocean current collapse

Study warns of terrifying Atlantic Ocean current collapse
yesterday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Stephen Prager

Louise Adler on Howard Jacobson’s Howl – a novel overtaken by ideology

Louise Adler on Howard Jacobson’s Howl – a novel overtaken by ideology
yesterday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Louise Adler

When prisons expand, policy has already failed

When prisons expand, policy has already failed
yesterday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Jane Anderson

Labor’s foreign policy no longer matches the world it faces

Labor’s foreign policy no longer matches the world it faces
previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Kym Davey

New detection tech could make AUKUS submarines obsolete

New detection tech could make AUKUS submarines obsolete

Chinese researchers have developed a new gravity-based detector that could be used to find submarines and render the proposed AUKUS submarine...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

John Queripel

You can’t rush peace: the fatal flaws in the US–Iran talks

You can’t rush peace: the fatal flaws in the US–Iran talks
previous day 2

Pearls and Irritations

Connie Peck

As warnings mount over Trump, Cuba pays the price

As warnings mount over Trump, Cuba pays the price
previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Richard Broinowski

Duniam contradicts Taylor on Coalition immigration policy

Duniam contradicts Taylor on Coalition immigration policy
previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Abul Rizvi

It takes two to make alliances and the US may run away first

It takes two to make alliances and the US may run away first
previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Jack Waterford

Why has populism's influence increased politically

Why has populism's influence increased politically
previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Michael Keating

Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US

Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US

P&I today begins a major new series - rethinking Australia’s foreign policy. The United States is becoming more erratic and less reliable, and...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue

Can the US public service survive the Trump era?

Public administrators in the United States are exploring how to reshape the civil service as a pillar of American democracy. Last year I reported in...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Andrew Podger

Albanese and Anwar align behind Pope’s call for peace

Albanese and Anwar align behind Pope’s call for peace

Australia and Malaysia have signalled support for a diplomatic path through escalating global tensions, backing Pope Leo’s call for peace and...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Zia Ahmad

AUKUS and the sunk cost trap beneath the surface

AUKUS and the sunk cost trap beneath the surface

As warfare shifts decisively toward autonomous and distributed systems, Australia’s massive investment in nuclear submarines risks locking in a...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Stewart Sweeney

Women are reshaping the workforce – but power hasn’t followed

Women are reshaping the workforce – but power hasn’t followed

Women are increasingly dominant across education and the workforce, but leadership, workplace structures and social attitudes have failed to keep...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Don Edgar

Australia’s school system is driving inequality – not fixing it

Australia’s school system is driving inequality – not fixing it

Australia’s school system has become a self-reinforcing cycle of inequality, and without structural reform, the divide between advantaged and...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

Chris Bonnor

How China really works – rules from above, reality from below

How China really works – rules from above, reality from below

The Chinese Government is often described as ruling with an iron fist, but the way rules and policy are interpreted on the ground can be quite...

previous day 10

Pearls and Irritations

John Hopkins

How the Greens could win 25 per cent of the vote

How the Greens could win 25 per cent of the vote

The Greens need to get out of their own bubble and do some very serious soul searching if they are ever to have broad appeal, argues a co-founder of...

sunday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Drew Hutton

From feminism to the manosphere – where to now?

From feminism to the manosphere – where to now?

Patricia Edgar reflects on a lifetime shaped by feminism – and asks why, despite its gains, relationships between men and women now feel more...

sunday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Patricia Edgar

Friendship, honey and the simple life: 100 years of Winnie‑the‑Pooh

Friendship, honey and the simple life: 100 years of Winnie‑the‑Pooh

A century after its creation, Winnie-the-Pooh endures not just as a children’s classic, but as a gentle meditation on friendship, community and how...

sunday 5

Pearls and Irritations

Elizabeth Hale

Environment: Class and race fuel climate collapse in Northern Territory

Environment: Class and race fuel climate collapse in Northern Territory

From devastating floods in the Northern Territory to the global failure to curb fossil fuels and the human cost of shipbreaking, environmental damage...

sunday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Peter Sainsbury

Cricket has survived every crisis – but this one may be different

Cricket has adapted and survived for centuries, but a new struggle over control – combined with climate pressures – may test the game in ways it...

sunday 10

Pearls and Irritations

Chas Keys

The bad, the worse, and the need for glee – Message from the Editor

The bad, the worse, and the need for glee – Message from the Editor

It has been a week where a number of world ‘leaders’ have exceeded even the lowest of expectations. Clearly the lion in this fight is Donald Trump...

17.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Catriona Jackson

The Middle East conflict is driven by competing theocracies

The Middle East conflict is driven by competing theocracies

The Middle East conflict reflects competing theocratic mindsets in Iran, Israel and the US, where religious conviction is being used to justify...

17.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

George Browning

Chasing ghosts, losing votes

Chasing ghosts, losing votes

New research shows immigration is not driving voter anger, yet the Coalition is targeting it anyway – risking further losses in the diverse, urban...

17.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Kos Samaras

What is the 25th Amendment and could it be used to remove Trump from office?

What is the 25th Amendment and could it be used to remove Trump from office?

Renewed calls to invoke the 25th Amendment have put the spotlight on how it works – and why it may be ill-suited to dealing with a president accused...

17.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

John Hart

Shock, horror! An effective parliament in our time?

Shock, horror! An effective parliament in our time?

An ACT Legislative Assembly committee has strengthened proposed sentencing laws by listening to expert evidence and improving the legislation. We’re...

17.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Andrew Fraser

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

A sharp fall in confidence and rising fuel prices point to a potential downturn, but traditional policy responses risk making the situation worse....

17.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Saul Eslake

Insider confirms US worked with Al Qaeda to fight the Syrian government

Insider confirms US worked with Al Qaeda to fight the Syrian government

New insider claims revive long-standing questions about whether US policy in Syria involved working with extremist groups – and what that means for...

17.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Paul Malone

Angus Taylor and the Liberal Party’s moral decline

Angus Taylor and the Liberal Party’s moral decline

Paul Keating says Angus Taylor’s embrace of “values” politics marks a return to racism, abandoning the Liberal Party’s traditions in favour of...

16.04.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Paul Keating

Electoral laws versus free political speech

Electoral laws versus free political speech

The High Court has struck down a Victorian law favouring major parties, but the bigger test lies ahead – whether federal electoral changes...

16.04.2026 8

Pearls and Irritations

David Solomon

On asylum, the Coalition is offering old fixes to problems of its own making

On asylum, the Coalition is offering old fixes to problems of its own making

The Coalition’s asylum plan repackages familiar measures that have failed before, while sidestepping its role in creating a large and growing...

16.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Abul Rizvi

The war on renewables is really about protecting fossil fuel profits

The war on renewables is really about protecting fossil fuel profits

As global fossil fuel prices surge amid conflict, attacks on Australia’s energy transition are intensifying – driven by industry interests that...

16.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Giles Parkinson

Trump has turned the pope into an adversary – and exposed himself

Trump has turned the pope into an adversary – and exposed himself

By targeting Pope Leo XIV, Donald Trump has exposed the limits of political power when confronted with a moral authority it cannot silence or absorb....

16.04.2026 7

Pearls and Irritations

Antonio Spadaro

Iran war: rights and wrongs

Iran war: rights and wrongs

International law rulings on Israel’s occupation place clear obligations on all states, yet Australia continues to back US and Israeli military...

16.04.2026 20

Pearls and Irritations

Paul Heywood-Smith

Italy breaks with Israel as public anger forces a political shift

Italy breaks with Israel as public anger forces a political shift

Italy has suspended military cooperation with Israel after months of mounting public anger. The Italian government has suspended a military...

16.04.2026 7

Pearls and Irritations

Stephen Prager

We're soaking in it

We're soaking in it

Human waste is overwhelming rivers, oceans and ecosystems worldwide, driving pollution, disease and ecological breakdown on a planetary scale. Every...

16.04.2026 10

Pearls and Irritations

Julian Cribb

Values-based citizenship is vague, selective and dangerous

Values-based citizenship is vague, selective and dangerous

Angus Taylor’s plan to tie citizenship to “Australian values” rely on vague definitions and risk embedding double standards, exclusion and...

15.04.2026 6

Pearls and Irritations

Jocelyn Chey

Urgent warning to Congressional leaders: Trump is psychologically unstable and dangerous

Urgent warning to Congressional leaders: Trump is psychologically unstable and dangerous

President Trump exhibits what forensic mental health experts have identified as the “Dark Triad” of personality traits: narcissism,...

15.04.2026 4

Pearls and Irritations

Jeffrey D. Sachs