Australia news LIVE: Morrison tells US Congress Australia ‘going to sleep' on China threat; top court makes key climate ruling

The Age

23-07-2025

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Latest posts
6.47am
Labor going backwards on transparency, new analysis finds
Labor is hiding information from the public more often than the Morrison government despite campaigning on a platform of integrity, frustrating a critical accountability mechanism intended to maintain faith in bureaucrats and keep politicians honest.
Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows Canberra's culture of secrecy has sunk to its worst point in more than a decade, with the proportion of freedom of information requests released in full plunging from almost half in 2021-22 to just 25 per cent under Labor in 2023-24.
The government is increasingly releasing documents to the public filled with black ink covering up key sections of text and Labor is more often ignoring Senate votes requesting details on policies and ministers' decision-making.
Independent senator David Pocock said the data under Anthony Albanese's watch was shameful compared to the prime minister's predecessor, Scott Morrison.
6.37am
Australians 'going to sleep' on China threat, Morrison tells US Congress
By Michael Koziol
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has told the United States Congress that Australians are at risk of 'going to sleep' on the security threat posed by China, and warned the US and its allies they must be prepared to wear economic pain to stand up to Beijing.
Appearing before a congressional hearing on the Chinese Communist Party, Morrison cited polling by the Lowy Institute that showed, in 2025, 50 per cent of Australians said China was 'more of an economic partner to Australia', whereas 47 per cent said it was 'more of a security threat'.
That had changed significantly from 2021-22, a time of strained relations between Canberra and Beijing, when 63 per cent said China was more of a security threat and 33 per cent said it was more of an economic partner.
'That is an objective of the CCP – that Western democracies will go to sleep on the threat,' Morrison told the hearing.
6.35am
What's making news today
By Daniel Lo Surdo
Hello and welcome to the national news live blog. My name is Daniel Lo Surdo, and I'll be helming our live coverage this morning.
Here's what is making news today:
The Albanese government will march forward with its legislative agenda after introducing two key draft laws on Wednesday. Labor is hoping the passage of its legislative agenda will be expedited behind support from the Coalition, which also appears receptive to its student debt reduction bill. It comes after the first question time of the 48th parliament on Wednesday, with the government and opposition exchanging blows spanning topics including housing affordability, climate change policy and superannuation tax reform.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has warned the United States Congress that Australians are at risk of 'going to sleep' on the security threat posed by China, and warned the US and its allies they must be prepared to wear economic pain to stand up to Beijing.
He later told reporters that Australians' level of awareness of the security threat posed by China had clearly diminished significantly over the past three years.
Countries besieged by the effects of climate change can legally pursue their neighbours for reparations if they fail to uphold their obligations to curb emissions, a top court has found. The historic advisory ruling was handed down by the International Court of Justice, and paves the way for massive compensation claims in a case brought by a group of law students from Vanuatu.