David Armstrong has been a journalist, in Australia and Asia, for more than 50 years. He has been a Pearls & Irritations contributor for more than 10 years and writes a regular column on Asian media.

Catriona began her working life as a journalist and has remained one by instinct and inclination across a diverse 30-year career, having served at the highest levels in politics, advocacy, campaigning ...

John launched his influential public policy journal Pearls and Irritations at publish.pearlsandirritations.com in January 2013. There are now more than 26,000 subscribers.

Angus Taylor has all the on-paper qualifications to be opposition leader. But what's needed now is a miracle worker to lift the struggling Liberal Party from its existential crisis.

One Nation’s promise to deport 75,000 undocumented migrants echoes Donald Trump’s approach, but the logistics, costs and risks of such a policy are far greater than the rhetoric suggests.

Calls for a new Minister for Social Cohesion reflect anxiety about Australia’s civic health, but risk mistaking rhetorical panic for structural failure – and policy symbolism for effective governance.

Pearls and Irritations is entering a new phase, with Editor-in-Chief John Menadue stepping back from day-to-day leadership and new appointments strengthening our future.

From protest laws to public commentary on writers and festivals, the NSW premier’s interventions reveal a troubling impatience with dissent and democratic restraint.

Japan’s ruling party has secured another overwhelming victory. But beneath the spectacle lies a troubling mix of demographic ...

The violence surrounding protests against the visit of Israel’s president was not an accident of crowd control. It reflects a deeper political failure – where authority suppresses dissent rather than ...

What would western outrage look like if China, rather than the United States, had carried out decades of military interventions and political interference?

Inviting Israel’s president to Australia in the wake of the Bondi attack has blurred the line between antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel, weakening rather than strengthening social ...