Conroy says Chinese ships under ‘unprecedented’ naval surveillance
Speaking earlier today, the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, said the Chinese flotilla has been subject to an “unprecedented” level of naval surveillance. He said:
[It is] the subject of the highest level of surveillance that you’ve ever seen from the Australian Defence Force for crews in international waters near Australia.
He also took aim at the opposition for “ramp[ing] up the rhetoric”.
We had a similar Chinese sailing near Australian waters in 2022 off the west coast of WA, and the last government subjected that crew to nowhere near the level of surveillance that we’ve had with this current flotilla.
Key events
Update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred
In more weather news, the Bureau of Meteorology has also provided an update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred, off the coast of Queensland.
Heatwave warnings across three states for weekend, into next week
Heatwave warnings are in place across Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory as we move into the weekend.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, parts of WA are forecast to be in the low to mid 40Cs, with severe heatwave conditions expected to increase over the weekend and into the new week.
Kiwirrkurra is set to reach a top of 46C on Sunday, while Paraburdoo is forecast to reach a top of 45C every day from tomorrow until at least next Thursday.
In Queensland, severe temperatures are also expected to develop around Mount Isa and Birdsville over the weekend and intensify during the week.
The former is expected to reach 43C on Monday and Tuesday, while the latter could reach 46C from today until Sunday.
In the Northern Territory, conditions are also expected to worsen into the new week. Timber Creek has a forecast maximum of 44C on Monday and Tuesday, while Wulungurru could reach 45C on Sunday.
NSW solar package was first announced in January last year
Krishani Dhanji
Just going back to that solar package in NSW: for some clarity, it was announced in January 2024, but today it’s been opened for applications.
It’s part of a broader $206m scheme announced last year, to upgrade energy systems in social housing as well as to help install rooftop solar on apartments or “solar gardens” for apartments that cannot install systems on their premises.
It is now open for applications that will close by 1 December or whenever the funds are dispensed.
It follows a similar program between the commonwealth and the Victorian government which opened its applications last year. There, the commonwealth has funded rebates for solar installation of up to $2,800 per apartment or up to $140,000 per property for up to 10,000 homes.
One expert told Guardian Australia:
Sigh … looks like the recycling and the circular economy now include government announcements!
Adeshola Ore
Victoria to introduce minimum standards for open space close to urban homes
Victoria will introduce minimum stands for open space close to homes in urban areas.
The proposal is included in the Allan government’s 30-year blueprint to guide the state’s population growth, unveiled this morning.
Under the “Plan for Victoria”, the government has pledged to introduce minimum standards into planning schemes to specify the types of open space that should be close to homes in established urban areas.
The government says planning of canopy trees will also be a consideration in planning permits for new, residential, commercial and industrial development.
The Victorian government has previously set a long-term target of 30% canopy cover for the public realm.
Conroy says Chinese ships under ‘unprecedented’ naval surveillance
Speaking earlier today, the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, said the Chinese flotilla has been subject to an “unprecedented” level of naval surveillance. He said:
[It is] the subject of the highest level of surveillance that you’ve ever seen from the Australian Defence Force for crews in international waters near Australia.
He also took aim at the opposition for “ramp[ing] up the rhetoric”.
We had a similar Chinese sailing near Australian waters in 2022 off the west coast of WA, and the last government subjected that crew to nowhere near the level of surveillance that we’ve had with this current flotilla.
Hanson-Young says Chinese ships example of why Australia needs independent foreign policy from US
Sarah Hanson-Young also weighed in on the Chinese ships that have been the topic of much scrutiny this week, and said “we shouldn’t be surprised [they] have been collecting intelligence”.
I mean, this isn’t a P&O cruise, this is a navy of another country – of course they’re collecting intelligence. We should not be surprised. But it [does] point to why we need better monitoring and better relationships with our region.
She argued this is an example of why Australia needs to “get out of this obsession with just following the US on everything”.
Now, with Donald Trump at the helm, Australia is at more risk than ever before with a guy who leads the United States who doesn’t even understand or know or care about the Aukus deal, and yet Australia has put all of our eggs in that basket.
It is time for an independent foreign policy for Australia that works with our neighbours, that works collaboratively with the people who are in our best interests in our region, and to make sure we have the independence – and not just being told what to do by Donald Trump, a bloke in the White House who doesn’t even seem to know where Australia is.
Hanson-Young lashes Aukus deal after Trump’s blunder
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has taken aim at Donald Trump for his Aukus blunder overnight, when he asked a reporter “What does that mean?” when asked about the submarine deal.
Both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have played down his comment, with the PM telling reporters “there are a lot of acronyms in this business”.
Speaking to reporters in Adelaide, Hanson-Young said Trump had “admit[ted] that he, he doesn’t even know what Aukus is”.
Aukus was a bad deal for Australia from the beginning … [Trump] doesn’t care about it, he can’t be bothered. The illusion that South Australia was going to get jobs from this project has been exposed.
Donald Trump has belled the cat. These jobs are not coming. They were never going to be coming. We’ve been led down the garden path again.
The Greens senator said the “billions and billions of dollars that Australia is spending on this deal is bad for our nation’s budget”.
It’s bad for public services and it’s bad for Australia’s national security.
Overseas school student numbers back to pre-Covid levels
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says overseas school student numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels.
According to new data, there were 26,068 full-fee paying overseas students enrolled in Australian schools in 2024 – an increase of 23.4% (or 4,944 students) from 2023. Mell Plumb, the ABS’ head of education statistics, said:
2024 was the second year in a row of year-on-year growth in the number of full-fee paying overseas students in Australian schools since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ABS said the pandemic years saw a drop of 41.9% from 26,593 full-fee paying overseas school students in 2019 to 15,461 in 2022.
Across the country the highest percentage of year-on-year growth was in Tasmania (up 39.9%, or 93 students), followed by the ACT (28%, 198 students) and Victoria (27.5%, 2,042 students) between 2023 to 2024.
Read this week’s Weekly Beast
It’s Friday afternoon, which only means one thing – it’s time to read the latest Weekly Beast from Amanda Meade:
Adeshola Ore
Victorian government unveils regional growth boundaries
Regional growth boundaries will be established in the Victorian cities of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo to curb outward urban sprawl.
The Victorian government announced the proposed reform today, as part of the unveiling of its new 30-year blueprint to guide the state’s population growth.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, said regional city boundaries will help encourage more homes to be built in the centre of these hubs.
The government will develop the boundaries in partnership with councils.
Number of hospital beds for older Australians lowest on record
Natasha May
The number of hospital beds for older Australians is the lowest on record according to the 2025 public hospital report card released today by the Australian Medical Association.
The report card covers the 2023–24 financial year – the most recent data available. The AMA president, Dr Danielle McMullen, said:
While the total number of public hospital beds available has increased, when we consider the ageing population, the number of available beds per 1,000 Australians aged over 65 is stagnant at 14.3 – the lowest on record.
The report card shows emergency department (ED) and planned surgery waiting times have also remained at some of the worst levels on record.
The report card shows just 55% of emergency department presentations across Australia were completed within the target of four hours, marking the eighth consecutive annual fall in performance for this metric.
A third of all ED patients triaged as “emergency” (category two, which includes those presenting with chest pain, severe respiratory distress or acute stroke) were not seen within the recommended 10-minute time frame, up from a quarter five years earlier.
The proportion of category two planned surgery patients (including heart operations) undergoing surgery within 90 days was at 71% in 2023–24 – a 6% improvement from the previous financial year but still a significant drop from 83% five years ago. McMullen said:
It’s encouraging to see there have been some short-term improvements when we compare this report with the last one but there is still a very long way to go to reverse the long-term trends.
Bowen open to debating O’Brien on energy policy
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, has said he is “so up” to having a debate with the shadow climate change minister, Ted O’Brien.
Taking a question from reporters, he said “you won’t have to ask me twice”.
I will certainly be hopeful of a debate with Mr O’Brien at the National Press Club because he has a lot of questions to answer about his fantasy nuclear policy.
The PM later joked that people should “get some popcorn shares” ahead of the debate:
[A] Chris Bowen versus Ted O’Brien energy debate is something I’ll be sitting down and having some popcorn on, watching, because this fantasy that Ted O’Brien is on, the Coalition’s policy, will devastate our energy policy and essentially is a handbrake on what is actually happening in the real world … It’s a disaster for Australia and it will be one of the key issues in the next campaign.
With that, the press conference wrapped up.
Albanese says international relations requires ‘clear, considered responses’
Anthony Albanese has continued to field questions about the Chinese ships and defended his government’s approach to international relations:
What our international relations require is clear, considered responses. What my government does in dealing with international relations is clear, is considered, it is based upon information – not based upon what might happen or what might not have happened, but based upon that. That is how you move forward, that is what is in our national interest to do so and that is what I do.
