Pearls and Irritations
@johnmenadue.com
Progressive analysis on politics, foreign policy, the economy, media, and culture, with a focus on peace and justice. John Menadue, Publisher & Editor in Chief
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Read: johnmenadue.com
Subscribe for free: https://tinyurl.com/vr2vz4av
The great failure of the property industry
The great failure of the property industry
In every era, certain industries become so large, so politically embedded, and so culturally unexamined that their performance ceases to matter.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:16 PM
The great failure of the property industry
A young mother was turned away from four hospitals and died in labour. Her death exposes the deadly gap between health coverage and real access to care in Indonesia, writes @dikurniawanarif. #HealthEquity #Indonesia #MaternalHealth #PublicHealth #HealthcareAccess
How one death in Papua should shame a republic into action
A pregnant woman’s preventable death after being refused treatment exposes the deadly gap between health coverage and real access to care in Indonesia’s most marginalised regions.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:01 PM
A young mother was turned away from four hospitals and died in labour. Her death exposes the deadly gap between health coverage and real access to care in Indonesia, writes @dikurniawanarif. #HealthEquity #Indonesia #MaternalHealth #PublicHealth #HealthcareAccess
Uncertainties trail behind Japanese PM's strong start
Uncertainties trail behind Japanese PM's strong start
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s early popularity rests on speculative public expectations, a fragile LDP–Ishin arrangement and her dependence on party heavyweight Taro Aso, leaving her authority vulnerable despite high initial approval ratings.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Uncertainties trail behind Japanese PM's strong start
Soybeans have become a strategic vulnerability for China – shaping food security policy and fuelling trade tensions with the US, writes Mandy Zuo. #China #FoodSecurity #Soybeans #Trade #Geopolitics #USChina
How soybeans became a fault line in China’s food security
China now buys 60 per cent of the world’s soybeans. That dependency shapes its food security strategy – and its trade battles with the United States.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Soybeans have become a strategic vulnerability for China – shaping food security policy and fuelling trade tensions with the US, writes Mandy Zuo. #China #FoodSecurity #Soybeans #Trade #Geopolitics #USChina
Tariff power in the US has shifted from Congress to the presidency, transforming trade from negotiation into coercion. That puts countries like Australia at risk, writes Gary Sampson. #TradePolicy #Tariffs #USPolitics #GlobalTrade #AusTrade
Trade and tariffs: how reciprocity turned into retaliation
Tariff powers once tightly constrained by Congress have steadily migrated to the US presidency. That shift is reshaping global trade – and exposing countries like Australia to greater economic coercion.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Tariff power in the US has shifted from Congress to the presidency, transforming trade from negotiation into coercion. That puts countries like Australia at risk, writes Gary Sampson. #TradePolicy #Tariffs #USPolitics #GlobalTrade #AusTrade
Trump’s push for Australian migrant crime data risks fuelling fear, distorting evidence and scapegoating vulnerable people, write Leanne Weber, Alison Gerard and Marinella Marmo. #AusPol #Migration #HumanRights #CriminalJustice #EvidenceBasedPolicy #PearlsAndIrritations
Trump wants Australian data on migrant crime
Donald Trump’s demand for Australian data on migrant crime risks reviving discredited narratives that stigmatise migrants, distort evidence and do real harm to vulnerable communities.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Trump’s push for Australian migrant crime data risks fuelling fear, distorting evidence and scapegoating vulnerable people, write Leanne Weber, Alison Gerard and Marinella Marmo. #AusPol #Migration #HumanRights #CriminalJustice #EvidenceBasedPolicy #PearlsAndIrritations
‘Genocide is not over,’ Amnesty leader says as Israel keeps bombing Gaza
‘Genocide is not over,’ Amnesty leader says as Israel keeps bombing Gaza
“So far, there is no indication that Israel is taking serious measures to reverse the deadly impact of its crimes and no evidence that its intent has changed.”
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:45 PM
‘Genocide is not over,’ Amnesty leader says as Israel keeps bombing Gaza
Corruption in politics isn’t just a moral lapse – it’s a response to a system that rewards access, loyalty and survival over the public good, writes David Higginbottom.
#AustralianPolitics #Corruption #Democracy #Transparency #Power
#AustralianPolitics #Corruption #Democracy #Transparency #Power
Corruption isn’t just a moral failure – it’s built into our political system
Corruption in politics is not an accident or an exception. It is a predictable outcome of a system that rewards loyalty, access and survival over accountability, transparency and the public interest.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Corruption in politics isn’t just a moral lapse – it’s a response to a system that rewards access, loyalty and survival over the public good, writes David Higginbottom.
#AustralianPolitics #Corruption #Democracy #Transparency #Power
#AustralianPolitics #Corruption #Democracy #Transparency #Power
Fear of student debt, stalled reform and the long shadow of the Dismissal frame this week’s reflections from P&I editor @catrionajackso1 on what Australia must confront now. #AusPol #HigherEducation #UniversityReform #WhitlamLegacy #PublicPolicy #PearlsAndIrritations
Message from the Editor
I was lucky to speak with a room full of young people at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering this week, at an ‘ask me anything’ session. So many of them were worried that the university system was not delivering, and that, for students, fear of debt was making them think twice about further education and distorting subject choices.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Fear of student debt, stalled reform and the long shadow of the Dismissal frame this week’s reflections from P&I editor @catrionajackso1 on what Australia must confront now. #AusPol #HigherEducation #UniversityReform #WhitlamLegacy #PublicPolicy #PearlsAndIrritations
Trump’s return has shattered the illusion of a rules-based order. As great powers cut deals, Australia risks strategic irrelevance by clinging to outdated assumptions, writes Geoff Raby.
#Trump #ForeignPolicy #Australia #China #GreatPowerPolitics #AUKUS
#Trump #ForeignPolicy #Australia #China #GreatPowerPolitics #AUKUS
Australia's strategic choices in a fragmenting global order
With Trump 2.0, the global order is changing and changing rapidly.
johnmenadue.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Trump’s return has shattered the illusion of a rules-based order. As great powers cut deals, Australia risks strategic irrelevance by clinging to outdated assumptions, writes Geoff Raby.
#Trump #ForeignPolicy #Australia #China #GreatPowerPolitics #AUKUS
#Trump #ForeignPolicy #Australia #China #GreatPowerPolitics #AUKUS
Unapologetically Ita reveals a formidable public life – but key controversies are left out. Denis Muller weighs what’s included, and what’s missing.
#ItaButtrose #AustralianMedia #ABC #Journalism #BookReview #Accountability
#ItaButtrose #AustralianMedia #ABC #Journalism #BookReview #Accountability
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, writes Denis Muller.
johnmenadue.com
November 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Unapologetically Ita reveals a formidable public life – but key controversies are left out. Denis Muller weighs what’s included, and what’s missing.
#ItaButtrose #AustralianMedia #ABC #Journalism #BookReview #Accountability
#ItaButtrose #AustralianMedia #ABC #Journalism #BookReview #Accountability
Our culture treats success as virtue and failure as a personal flaw – a sharp break from older traditions that saw failure as meaningful and transformative. We need to recover that wisdom in an age of burnout.
#Culture #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Burnout #Neoliberalism #Arts #Society
#Culture #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Burnout #Neoliberalism #Arts #Society
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 meaningful. Recovering that wisdom may be essential to living with dignity in an age of burnout.
johnmenadue.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Our culture treats success as virtue and failure as a personal flaw – a sharp break from older traditions that saw failure as meaningful and transformative. We need to recover that wisdom in an age of burnout.
#Culture #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Burnout #Neoliberalism #Arts #Society
#Culture #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Burnout #Neoliberalism #Arts #Society
The COP that couldn’t even say “fossil fuels” reflects a deeper failure as climate damage accelerates – from melting glaciers to declining ocean life, writes Peter Sainsbury.
#ClimateCrisis #COP #FossilFuels #ClimateScience #Environment
#ClimateCrisis #COP #FossilFuels #ClimateScience #Environment
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 declining ocean life.
johnmenadue.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:30 PM
The COP that couldn’t even say “fossil fuels” reflects a deeper failure as climate damage accelerates – from melting glaciers to declining ocean life, writes Peter Sainsbury.
#ClimateCrisis #COP #FossilFuels #ClimateScience #Environment
#ClimateCrisis #COP #FossilFuels #ClimateScience #Environment
Faith isn’t measured by belief or church attendance, but by how we treat people who are struggling. If Christianity ignores poverty and injustice, it misses its own message. #Religion #FaithAndJustice #Christianity #Poverty #SocialJustice
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.
johnmenadue.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Faith isn’t measured by belief or church attendance, but by how we treat people who are struggling. If Christianity ignores poverty and injustice, it misses its own message. #Religion #FaithAndJustice #Christianity #Poverty #SocialJustice
Australia talks of a “new regional architecture”, but still treats China as an existential threat. Old Cold War assumptions are shaping dangerous strategic choices, writes Ronald Keith.
#China #Australia #ForeignPolicy #AsiaPacific #Security #AUKUS
#China #Australia #ForeignPolicy #AsiaPacific #Security #AUKUS
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 that risk strategy, prosperity and peace.
johnmenadue.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Australia talks of a “new regional architecture”, but still treats China as an existential threat. Old Cold War assumptions are shaping dangerous strategic choices, writes Ronald Keith.
#China #Australia #ForeignPolicy #AsiaPacific #Security #AUKUS
#China #Australia #ForeignPolicy #AsiaPacific #Security #AUKUS
Early childhood reform can’t stop at compliance. Safety and quality depend on educators – pay, training, careers and status must match the responsibility, writes Roger Chao.
#EarlyChildhood #EducationPolicy #Workforce #ChildSafety #Australia
#EarlyChildhood #EducationPolicy #Workforce #ChildSafety #Australia
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 reform begins with professionalising the workforce.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Early childhood reform can’t stop at compliance. Safety and quality depend on educators – pay, training, careers and status must match the responsibility, writes Roger Chao.
#EarlyChildhood #EducationPolicy #Workforce #ChildSafety #Australia
#EarlyChildhood #EducationPolicy #Workforce #ChildSafety #Australia
AI doesn't have to replace human judgement. History shows the real gains come when technology strengthens human capability, not erodes it, writes @drjohnhoward.
#AI #TechnologyPolicy #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Australia
#AI #TechnologyPolicy #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Australia
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 judgment or strengthen it.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:01 PM
AI doesn't have to replace human judgement. History shows the real gains come when technology strengthens human capability, not erodes it, writes @drjohnhoward.
#AI #TechnologyPolicy #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Australia
#AI #TechnologyPolicy #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Australia
Chinese researchers say silencing Starlink over Taiwan is possible – but only with 1,000 to 2,000 coordinated jamming drones and enormous resources, writes Stephen Chen.
#Starlink #Taiwan #China #MilitaryTechnology #ElectronicWarfare #Geopolitics
#Starlink #Taiwan #China #MilitaryTechnology #ElectronicWarfare #Geopolitics
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 coordinated electronic warfare.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Chinese researchers say silencing Starlink over Taiwan is possible – but only with 1,000 to 2,000 coordinated jamming drones and enormous resources, writes Stephen Chen.
#Starlink #Taiwan #China #MilitaryTechnology #ElectronicWarfare #Geopolitics
#Starlink #Taiwan #China #MilitaryTechnology #ElectronicWarfare #Geopolitics
Zhao Leji’s visit should have been about diplomacy and Australia–China relations. Instead, media coverage fixated on security threats and missed the point entirely, writes John Queripel. #China #Australia #Diplomacy #Media #ForeignPolicy
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 media fixated on security theatrics and fed a familiar cycle of fear.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Zhao Leji’s visit should have been about diplomacy and Australia–China relations. Instead, media coverage fixated on security threats and missed the point entirely, writes John Queripel. #China #Australia #Diplomacy #Media #ForeignPolicy
False beliefs and conspiracy theories persist because they offer emotional safety when reality feels unbearable. Evidence alone can’t compete with equilibrium, writes John Frew.
#Psychology #Politics #Truth #Belief #Misinformation #Climate
#Psychology #Politics #Truth #Belief #Misinformation #Climate
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.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
False beliefs and conspiracy theories persist because they offer emotional safety when reality feels unbearable. Evidence alone can’t compete with equilibrium, writes John Frew.
#Psychology #Politics #Truth #Belief #Misinformation #Climate
#Psychology #Politics #Truth #Belief #Misinformation #Climate
The deadly Hong Kong tower fire has exposed repeated safety breaches by a contractor previously warned by authorities, raising serious questions about enforcement and accountability, writes Lam Ka Sing.
#HongKong #FireSafety #ConstructionSafety #Accountability #Regulation
#HongKong #FireSafety #ConstructionSafety #Accountability #Regulation
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 projects on multiple occasions.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The deadly Hong Kong tower fire has exposed repeated safety breaches by a contractor previously warned by authorities, raising serious questions about enforcement and accountability, writes Lam Ka Sing.
#HongKong #FireSafety #ConstructionSafety #Accountability #Regulation
#HongKong #FireSafety #ConstructionSafety #Accountability #Regulation
New European research suggests Gaza’s death toll may be far higher than most official estimates, with life expectancy collapsing, writes Brad Reed.
#Gaza #Palestine #HumanRights #InternationalLaw #Genocide #MiddleEast
#Gaza #Palestine #HumanRights #InternationalLaw #Genocide #MiddleEast
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 accountability.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:45 PM
New European research suggests Gaza’s death toll may be far higher than most official estimates, with life expectancy collapsing, writes Brad Reed.
#Gaza #Palestine #HumanRights #InternationalLaw #Genocide #MiddleEast
#Gaza #Palestine #HumanRights #InternationalLaw #Genocide #MiddleEast
The social media ban focuses on harm – but ignores what’s lost. For African diaspora youth, these platforms offer identity, culture and belonging that exist nowhere else.
#AusPol #YouthVoices #SocialMediaBan #Race #DigitalCulture
#AusPol #YouthVoices #SocialMediaBan #Race #DigitalCulture
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, belonging and connection.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:30 PM
The social media ban focuses on harm – but ignores what’s lost. For African diaspora youth, these platforms offer identity, culture and belonging that exist nowhere else.
#AusPol #YouthVoices #SocialMediaBan #Race #DigitalCulture
#AusPol #YouthVoices #SocialMediaBan #Race #DigitalCulture
Australia’s long-overdue environment law reforms have real gains, but compromises leave risks for nature, write Justine Bell-James, Euen Ritchie, Phillipa McCormack and Yung En Chee. #Environment #ClimatePolicy #Biodiversity #AustralianPolitics
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.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Australia’s long-overdue environment law reforms have real gains, but compromises leave risks for nature, write Justine Bell-James, Euen Ritchie, Phillipa McCormack and Yung En Chee. #Environment #ClimatePolicy #Biodiversity #AustralianPolitics
New research shows Indigenous businesses are creating jobs, paying higher wages, and winning contracts – especially in regional and remote Australia, writes Noel Turnbull.
#IndigenousBusiness #Jobs #ClosingTheGap #EconomicDevelopment #FirstNations
#IndigenousBusiness #Jobs #ClosingTheGap #EconomicDevelopment #FirstNations
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 government procurement.
johnmenadue.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:00 PM
New research shows Indigenous businesses are creating jobs, paying higher wages, and winning contracts – especially in regional and remote Australia, writes Noel Turnbull.
#IndigenousBusiness #Jobs #ClosingTheGap #EconomicDevelopment #FirstNations
#IndigenousBusiness #Jobs #ClosingTheGap #EconomicDevelopment #FirstNations