Australia news live: Wong pushes Chinese counterpart on submarine missile launch in face-to-face Manila meeting

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Manila on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting. Their 12th discussion focused on ASEAN priorities and the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Wong raised Australia's concerns regarding China's recent test of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched missile, noting the significant worries expressed by Pacific island nations. She also brought up a range of consular matters, including the case of Dr. Yang Jun. Wong stressed the importance of respecting Australian laws, sovereignty, and freedom of expression, alongside the need for safe and professional maritime conduct and human rights.

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We know that many Australians still continue to do it tough, despite the work we’ve done around tax cuts and increased wages and cost of living relief. So I think what you’ll see at this conference is a really big focus on what more we can be doing as a party, and as a government, to deliver that real change.

In domestic news, Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt spoke about the upcoming Labor party national conference. He anticipated discussions on further government actions to support Australians facing economic challenges, despite existing cost-of-living relief measures. Watt highlighted that the government has already implemented significant gambling reforms, describing them as the most far-reaching proposed by any government, while deferring specific announcements on potential new regulations to the conference.

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I don’t want to preempt the conference. There’ll be people who’ll say a range of things about these sorts of issues, but I do think it needs to be recognised that the government has taken some very serious action already.