China hits back at Penny Wong’s comments about South China Sea
Australia is not ruling out stepping up joint patrols of the South China Sea following “destabilising” missile testing in the region, Australian Associated Press reports.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, was asked last night about the potential of more regular regional sea patrols in tandem with the United States and Japan, following China’s launching of nuclear-capable missiles.
“The maritime zone is critical to stability in the region so, when we have a conversation about the South China Sea, that is something I’m sure we should all keep in mind,” she told reporters in Manila where she is attending the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting.
“We are concerned about some of the aggression we are seeing, we are concerned about some of the destabilising conduct we are seeing, and the countries of the region have a choice to make about how we all respond to that.”
Wong met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the talks on Tuesday evening to highlight her concerns.
“You speak about the importance of mutual understanding,’’ she said.
“I agree, and I expect we will discuss our concerns … including around peace and stability in our region, safe and professional military conduct, and the importance of transparency and reassurance of intent.”
China’s foreign ministry hit back at Wong’s comments, saying Australia was not party to the South China Sea issue and had no right to intervene.
“China urges relevant countries to stop stirring up tension and inciting confrontation,” spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing in Beijing.
It came as Wong prepared to warn China in a speech today that Australia would not be bullied by Beijing as it builds up its military strength.
Key events
Cait Kelly
One in five skipping personal hygiene or cleaning products amid cost of living concerns
A survey of more than 2000 Australians has found 1 in 5 (20%) have skipped buying personal hygiene or cleaning products in the last 12 months to afford other essentials like food, housing and petrol.
Conducted by leading charity Good360 Australia, the research shows 1 in 3 Australians (35%) have experienced hygiene poverty at some point, with 1 in 10 falling into it for the first time this year. The problem is worsening and now reaches well into middle income Australia, including full-time workers.
The toll is serious and often hidden: 1 in 3 have avoided social situations, 1 in 3 have felt embarrassed, ashamed or experienced mental health impacts, and nearly 1 in 4 have delayed a doctor or dental appointment.
Alison Covington, founder and managing director of good360, said:
The findings of this research are deeply concerning. Hygiene poverty is no longer a problem at the margins, it cuts across our communities, impacting millions of Australians who are being forced to skip basic hygiene products to afford food, rent, housing and petrol.
It is not only Australians on the lowest incomes that are affected. Our research shows hygiene poverty now reaches full time workers and all types of families, extending well into middle income Australia.
The impacts are serious and often hidden, with major implications for personal health and wellbeing, as well as for our society and economy. People are withdrawing from social life, delaying medical appointments, even avoiding work or job interviews.
No one in a country like Australia should have to make these choices. Everyone deserves to live with dignity, and that starts with the basics.
People have ‘strong’ and ‘varied’ views about taxation, Jim Chalmers says in obfuscation to calls for gas taxation
Jim Chalmers was also asked about a new leftwing manifesto circulating before the Labor party’s national conference that calls for a new tax rate for the highest-income earners, introducing wealth and inheritance taxes and extracting more revenue from gas companies. It includes the quote:
Labor will ensure that Australian people receive a fairer return from their natural resources, including through appropriate taxation arrangements.
Asked if the government should revisit the way it taxes gases, as the former leader of the party, Bill Shorten, has called for, he said people had “strong views” about the issue.
Not just in the Labor party, but in the Australian community more broadly, people do have strong views and varied views about this issue. I understand that. I acknowledge that when it comes to the appropriate taxation arrangements.
He pointed to changes the government has made to the PRRT and said Labor had “put a lot of time and effort into making sure that we are getting a fairer return”.
I do expect this issue to come up through the course of today, it has come up before … We are focused on a number of things, including our international responsibilities, but as well as that, the gas reservation policy, which means reserving more of our gas for domestic use.
Jim Chalmers lists seven major challenges facing the Labor party
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is appearing on ABC’s Radio National this morning ahead of the ALP’s national conference kicking off.
He touted the prime minister’s announcement today of the extension of the paid practical placements program for students, describing it in its existing form as a “really important and successful policy”.
Asked to describe the single-greatest challenging facing Labor right now, he wasn’t able to contain it to one:
Serious challenges in our economy … Intensifying global pressures, against the backdrop of some very substantial generational challenges … The AI revolution. The energy transformation, the changes to our industrial base, the ageing of our population, the fragmenting of geopolitics. All of this presents parties of the sensible centre and the centre left parties like the Australian Labor party with a series of very serious economic challenges.
Jordyn Beazley
Self-reported domestic violence incidents declining in NSW but deaths and hospitalisations fail to fall
New data shows self-reported domestic violence incidents in New South Wales have declined, but the number of women and children murdered or hospitalised in domestic and family violence incidents over the past eight years has not significantly budged.
The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Boscar) released a report this morning that analysed five indicators over the eight years to June 2025 to determine if domestic and family violence had increased in the state.
It found three measures showed no significant change, including the number of women and children murdered or hospitalised in domestic and family violence incidents, and the number of police recorded incidents of grievous bodily harm.
Bocsar found two other domestic violence indicators, based on the annual ABS’s survey on crime victimisation, showed significant declines.
This included self-reported violent victimisation, which dropped from 4.1% in 2017 to 2018 to 3% in 2024 to 2025. Also, self-reported domestic and family violence victimisation, which declined from 0.91% in July 2016 to June 2019 to 0.65% in July 2022 to June 2025.
Boscar executive director, Jackie Fitzgerald, said:
The decline in self-reported violence is significant because it reflects underlying levels of violence in the community, not just what is reported to police. It suggests that, despite rising reports of domestic violence to police, domestic violence in the community is not increasing and may be trending down.
There’s a strong perception that violence against women is rising, which is understandable given increases in police-recorded incidents, heightened media attention and greater public awareness.
There are more people in NSW’s prisons on domestic violence charges than ever before, according to Bocsar’s latest custody data, and police recorded incidents have increased. Fitzgerald said the latter “appears to be driven by more proactive policing and increased reporting, rather than clear evidence of underlying violence”.
Last week the nation reached another crisis point for domestic and family violence after two women and two girls were allegedly murdered in four days. This included Lavanya Chappa and 13-year-old Layla Jeffery in Victoria, Jana Armstrong in Queensland, and a 17-year-old Yolngu girl in the Northern Territory. In May, a Sydney woman and her two children were allegedly murdered.
Labor’s national conference kicks off in Adelaide
Thousands of Labor true believers have descended on Adelaide for the party’s 50th national conference, laying out the party’s platform which will cast “practical” policies as the key to combating the anxiety and frustration gripping the electorate.
Day one on Thursday will start with an address from incoming Labor president Kate Ellis. The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, will also give a speech, before the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, takes to the stage for his address.
Debate on Thursday will be led by the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on economic issues, as well as energy minister Chris Bowen later in the day on the climate and environment.
Already announced is financial assistance for students to complete mandatory placements under a major expansion of the federal government’s paid work experience program. You can read about it here:
Jason Clare says domestic violence is a ‘crime’, not a ‘two-way street’ in rebuke of Pauline Hanson’s comments
Jason Clare was also asked about widely criticised comments from Pauline Hanson on domestic violence.
On Wednesday, she told the radio station 4BC domestic violence in Australia was a scourge but that society was under “so much pressure”, when asked to call out the issue, describing it as “wrong” but a “two-way street”.
Asked for his reaction, Clare said:
One in four Australian women are victims of domestic violence … that’s one in four women who are violently attacked by people who tell them that they love them. You know, that’s not a two-way street. That’s a crime.
Asked if it would be a “big topic” at this week’s Labor conference, he said “I suspect it’ll be a topic”.
I think when people hear these comments, if they’re thinking about voting for Pauline Hanson, they think, hang on. I didn’t sign up for that.
Federal education minister says teachers should be paid as well as ‘they possibly can be’
The education minister, Jason Clare, appeared on ABC News Breakfast this morning as Victorian teachers go on strike today for the second time this year.
Asked what he had to say to parents impacted by the strike, he said: “I hope this gets sorted out as quick as it possibly can.”
The teachers do the most important job in the world. I want to see them being paid as good as they possibly can be. We know that when you pay people more, more people want to do the job. In New South Wales, we’ve seen the evidence of that …
I know the Victorian government’s got a big offer on the table here of a 28% pay rise, which would be even bigger than New South Wales. So that’s a good thing and I really hope that the Victorian government and the teachers can get together and sort this out for parents and for our kids as quick as possible.
Asked if Victorian teachers should get a better offer, Clare said he wouldn’t get involved in individual negotiations but there was a teacher shortage and they should be paid “what they deserve”.
I think that the government is determined to get a good outcome here for our teachers and I’m pretty confident that this will be worked out.
Thanks Martin Farrer for kicking things off, it’s Caitlin Cassidy here to take you through today’s news. I’m on caitlin.cassidy@theguardian.com if you’d like to get in touch.
Kennedy and Hodge to lead Australia at Commonwealth Games
Pole vault star Nina Kennedy and decorated para-swimmer Tim Hodge will lead the Australian team at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Australian Associated Press reports.
Kennedy will carry the flag and Hodge will be the Games baton bearer when the team marches out early tomorrow morning AEST at Glasgow’s Hydro indoor arena.
While Kennedy will be the 24th Australian to carry the flag at a Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, the baton bearer is a new honour.
Rather than a single King’s baton, for the first time all 74 countries and territories were given their own to decorate and bring to the opening ceremony.
King Charles III started the main Scotland baton relay in March last year and it contains the full message he will read at the opening ceremony. The other batons each contain one word from his message.
Kennedy and Hodge won gold four years ago at the Birmingham Games and remain at the peak of their sports.
After winning pole vault gold at the Paris Olympics, Kennedy needed an extended break because of a hamstring injury.
But Kennedy showed only last week that she will be one of the top competitors in Glasgow, breaking the Australian record with her 4.95m vault to win the Monaco Diamond League.
Second teacher strike disrupts public schools in Victoria
Students in Victoria will be kept at home as a second teacher strike disrupts public schools, leaving thousands of families to make alternative arrangements, Australian Associated Press reports.
More than 35,000 teachers, principals, and education support staff are expected to gather in Melbourne’s CBD today after rejecting a pay deal proposed by the state government.
While all public schools were set to remain open, many classes will be disrupted.
Australian Education Union Victorian members on Tuesday knocked back the government’s updated offer of a 28.3% pay rise over the next four years, calling for a better offer to combat ongoing resourcing and staffing pressures.
“The government’s done precious little to do anything meaningful to address that and our members are carrying the weight of all the excessive workload,” Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly said.
Union educators have been locked in a pay dispute with the government for nearly a year, with graduate teachers – the worst paid in the country – earning $13,000 less than those in the Northern Territory, the best paid.
Former deputy principal Melinda Davis said the teacher strike was not simply a dispute over pay, it was about addressing conditions and class sizes.
“The government has cut funding to government schools over the past 10 years and that slow decrease in funding has meant we have schools needing repairs, but also we have lost so many teachers in the profession,” the Swinburne education expert said.
Continuing on from last post …
More on that response from China to Penny Wong’s comments at Asean:
They came in a press conference held by foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian. According to the official translated transcript, he was asked about Wong’s comments that China’s missile test in the Pacific was destabilising, and her concern about “some of the aggression” it is seeing in the South China Sea, in particular a recent confrontation between China and the Philippines.
He responded:
The root cause of the tension at sea lies with the deliberate infringement activities and provocation of the Philippines. Relevant countries are not parties in the South China Sea, and are in no position to interfere in the maritime issues between countries concerned.
Apparently, whenever something happens at sea, the same few countries immediately point their fingers at China regardless of who exactly is at fault. Are they trying to keep the South China Sea peaceful and stable, or simply to destabilise? I think the answer is quite clear. We urge relevant countries to stop hyping up tensions and sowing confrontation.
He said China will “continue firmly safeguarding its sovereignty, rights and interests” in the South China Sea, and on the test launch said it was a “routine training activity” not directed at any specific country or target, and China had notified relevant countries including Australia beforehand.
China hits back at Penny Wong’s comments about South China Sea
Australia is not ruling out stepping up joint patrols of the South China Sea following “destabilising” missile testing in the region, Australian Associated Press reports.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, was asked last night about the potential of more regular regional sea patrols in tandem with the United States and Japan, following China’s launching of nuclear-capable missiles.
“The maritime zone is critical to stability in the region so, when we have a conversation about the South China Sea, that is something I’m sure we should all keep in mind,” she told reporters in Manila where she is attending the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting.
“We are concerned about some of the aggression we are seeing, we are concerned about some of the destabilising conduct we are seeing, and the countries of the region have a choice to make about how we all respond to that.”
Wong met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the talks on Tuesday evening to highlight her concerns.
“You speak about the importance of mutual understanding,’’ she said.
“I agree, and I expect we will discuss our concerns … including around peace and stability in our region, safe and professional military conduct, and the importance of transparency and reassurance of intent.”
China’s foreign ministry hit back at Wong’s comments, saying Australia was not party to the South China Sea issue and had no right to intervene.
“China urges relevant countries to stop stirring up tension and inciting confrontation,” spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing in Beijing.
It came as Wong prepared to warn China in a speech today that Australia would not be bullied by Beijing as it builds up its military strength.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Caitlin Cassidy with the main action.
More than 35,000 teachers, principals and education support staff are expected to gather in Melbourne’s CBD today as they go on strike after rejecting a pay deal proposed by the state government. More coming up.
Australia is not ruling out stepping up joint patrols of the South China Sea after “destabilising” missile testing in the region, Penny Wong said last night as she attends the Asean summit in Manila.
But China has hit back, with its foreign ministry spokesman urging “relevant countries to stop stirring up tension and inciting confrontation”. We have more on this soon.
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