Pay Conroy says China had been planning missile test for ‘some time’
Pat Conroy, the defence industry minister, spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying the Chinese government had been planning to test a long-range missile for “some time” but only informed the Australian government a few hours beforehand.
We’ve been very clear that we’re seeing the biggest military buildup in our region since World War II and it’s not being accompanied by sufficient transparency.
Conroy said he believes the launch was “more likely to be a coincidence rather than linked” to Australia’s defence agreements with Fiji yesterday. But he added that was “obviously” a question for the Chinese government. He went on:
This is something that can destabilise the region but it doesn’t take away from our efforts to implement what the Pacific leaders have called for, which is Pacific security to come from within the Pacific.
Key events
Alex de Minaur wilts in fourth-round Wimbledon defeat
In case you missed it …
On a sweltering day when a series of spectators required medical attention at Wimbledon, Australia’s challenger also wilted in the heat, AAP reports.
Alex de Minaur, who walked on to No 1 court with a first grand slam semi-final, at the least, very much in his sights, was left dejected after losing to Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 5-7, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 in the fourth round.
The Australian No 1 and world No 6 was too timid in the face of Cobolli’s vibrant attacking play and lacked spark. A misfiring first serve also let down Australia’s last singles contender.
Read more here:
We have some shots of the new “Pam the Bird” atop the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne.
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Luca Ittimani
Higher-earning Australians flocking to 5% first home deposit scheme
Most Australian first home buyers are using the government’s 5% deposit scheme, with one in three new participants earning more than the scheme’s previous cap for high-income earners.
The influx of high-income earners into the first home guarantee program, economists warn, has pushed up property prices by increasing buying capacity for people who would have bought anyway.
The former Coalition government installed a scheme whereby lower-income first-time buyers could borrow 95% of a property’s value and have the government pay for their lenders’ mortgage insurance.
Labor scrapped the income caps of $125,000 for single borrowers and $200,000 combined for joint borrowers last year, fulfilling a pre-election pledge.
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Pay Conroy says China had been planning missile test for ‘some time’
Pat Conroy, the defence industry minister, spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying the Chinese government had been planning to test a long-range missile for “some time” but only informed the Australian government a few hours beforehand.
We’ve been very clear that we’re seeing the biggest military buildup in our region since World War II and it’s not being accompanied by sufficient transparency.
Conroy said he believes the launch was “more likely to be a coincidence rather than linked” to Australia’s defence agreements with Fiji yesterday. But he added that was “obviously” a question for the Chinese government. He went on:
This is something that can destabilise the region but it doesn’t take away from our efforts to implement what the Pacific leaders have called for, which is Pacific security to come from within the Pacific.
Taiwan says China missile test destabilises Indo-Pacific
Joseph Wu, the head of Taiwan’s national security council, also had harsh words after the test.
On X, Wu wrote:
It’s a provocation that destabilizes the #IndoPacific. #China just proved itself again to be a bully on the block.
Marles says Australia has expressed concern over long-range missile test to China ‘directly’
Marles said he doubts China tested the long-range weapon yesterday in response to Anthony Albanese being in the Pacific to sign a new defence alliance with Fiji, but said Australia remains deeply concerned by the development.
He told ABC News:
At the end of the day, what we’re seeing here is a long-range missile test from China, which China itself has said is nuclear capable … This is China demonstrating a much greater range in terms of being able to deploy a nuclear weapon.
And ultimately what that is, is deeply destabilising.
Marles said the Australian government had expressed its concern to “China directly”. He went on:
Our fundamental issue in relation to China is that we have seen a very dramatic military buildup by China without that strategic reassurance [to our neighbours].
There really isn’t an explanation as to why they are building the capabilities that they are and that is fundamentally destabilising.
Richard Marles, the acting prime minister, made some brief comments on “Pam the Bird” during an interview on ABC News. He said:
I think the system is handling the matter as it should … I think it’s appropriate that the legal process takes its course.
Man atop Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge says he won’t come down until they ‘lower the taxes’
The man who allegedly painted a massive “Pam the Bird” image on Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge says he won’t come down “until they lower the taxes”.
As we reported earlier, Victoria police are in a standoff with the man and were on scene this morning “responding to an incident involving a trespasser”.
In an Instagram video purportedly from the man, he said he wouldn’t come down for the foreseeable future:
I’m not coming down until they lower the taxes. Fucking sick of paying that shit.
A media officer for the police said they were told about a “suspicious loiter” on the bridge around 2am today. One of the southbound lanes on the bridge was closed and the others were running at reduced speed.
Wong maintains China’s test of long-range missile ‘destabilising’
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, maintained Australia views China’s test of a long-range missile in the South Pacific yesterday as “destabilising to the region”, saying it raises the risk of miscalculation”.
Wong spoke to RN Breakfast the morning after Beijing tested the weapon, just hours after Australia signed a defence agreement with Fiji. A Chinese navy statement said a nuclear submarine had launched a “strategic missile carrying a training simulation warhead”.
“We do not believe this test is consistent with the view that Pacific leaders have very clearly expressed that the Pacific should be an ocean of peace,” Wong said on RN this morning.
Back to the upcoming byelection in WA’s seat of Secret Harbour …
The WA One Nation Leader, Rod Caddies, said Labor has treated Secret Harbour as a safe seat and voters aren’t happy, AAP reports.
They’ve been missing in action and we’re going to sink Labor in Secret Harbour.
The party has a short list of potential candidates but no one has been officially nominated to run.
We want to make sure that we don’t leave any stone unturned in getting the very best.
Hanson could also make an appearance on the hustings once the byelection date is announced, he said.
Political commentator Peter Kennedy said Labor will “lose some paint” in the poll but is likely to retain the seat.
The big question for Labor is how much support it will lose.
It’s got a fair buffer but things are a bit volatile at the moment so I think there would be a bit of nervousness all around the traps.
The byelection’s “moment of truth” will be how many votes One Nation gets and how much of the struggling Liberal party vote it can take.
It’ll be a test for [WA Liberal leader] Basil Zempilas and his leadership. It’s also a big test for One Nation, whether the swing we’ve been seeing to One Nation is reflected in actual votes.
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s dive in.
Police in standoff with alleged trespasser on Bolte Bridge
Police in Melbourne are in a standoff with a man who they allege has painted a huge “Pam the Bird” image on the city’s Bolte Bridge.
In a statement Victoria police said uniformed and water police were “currently on scene and responding to an incident involving a trespasser” on the bridge. They said:
A man has scaled the bridge and remains in a restricted area on the eastern tower. He is refusing to follow police direction and come down.
Police allege the man is responsible for graffitiing the bridge earlier this morning.
There was no threat to the public or road users and one lane of the bridge remains closed.
They were working to get the man down safely.
A post on Instagram from a Channel Seven reporter shows a man on top on one of the bridge’s 120m-high towers, just above a new Pam the Bird.
Another post appears to be taken from the man’s point of view on top of the tower, looking out over the city and gesturing to police below. It ends with the comment “will see you in the morning might have a quick nap”.
WA premier says Labor faces tough fight to retain Secret Harbour in byelection
Western Australia’s Labor premier has conceded his party will have a tough fight to retain a previously safe seat after a retiring MP triggered a byelection, Australian Associated Press reports.
Paul Papalia, the WA minister for corrective services and member for the seat of Secret Harbour, south of Perth, quit politics yesterday.
“This isn’t what I’d planned,” he told reporters. “One of my immediate family members has been diagnosed with a serious illness.”
The state premier, Roger Cook, said his party will have to work hard if it wants to retain the seat, which is made up of working and middle-class families.
It’s going to be really tough. We’re not taking anything for granted.
We know that during a byelection there’s heightened debate and there’s increased focus and, as a result of that, we’re going to have to fight for our lives on this one.
Papalia, a navy veteran who entered politics in 2007, won Secret Harbour for Labor in 2025, polling 61.5% of the two-party preferred vote amid a 28.5% swing away from the party.
The Liberals won 28.5% of the vote, recording a swing of 9.8% to the party.
One Nation, which polled 8.4% in 2025, with a 6.3% swing to it, confirmed it will run a candidate.
Wong says she will talk to China over ‘destabilising’ missile test
Luca Ittimani
Penny Wong has said she will discuss China’s long-range missile test personally with Chinese counterparts in her next official engagements.
The foreign affairs minister said Australia had made clear its displeasure at Monday’s South Pacific missile launch by diplomatic channels, speaking to the ABC on Monday evening. She said:
We have consistently made those representations and will continue to do so … because we do want the Pacific to be an ocean of peace.
In an era where we see contest and competition, the destabilising acts can lead to miscalculation, can lead where we do not want these actions to lead.
Wong said Australian defence attachés in Beijing and officials in Canberra had been briefed by their Chinese counterparts earlier in the day and communicated the government’s view. She added:
You should anticipate that in my next engagements those points will be something we will discuss.
Wong repeatedly refused to speculate on China’s intention and refused to say whether the action was “dangerous” or “heavy handed”, when asked.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
Western Australia’s Labor premier, Roger Cook, has conceded his party will have a tough fight to retain a previously safe seat after a retiring MP triggered a byelection in which One Nation could launch a strong challenge. More coming up.
Penny Wong has said she will discuss China’s long-range missile test with Chinese counterparts in her next official engagements after Beijing’s shot across the bows of the region.
