What we learned today, Monday 24 April
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today – thanks so much for joining us. Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
The government released the first strategic review of Australia’s military structure in 10 years, which warned Australia’s military capability is structured for “a bygone era”. The cost of the DSR over the forward estimates will be around $19bn, deputy PM Richard Marles said.
Shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie argued Labor has “failed” with the defence overhaul and said the timing, right before Anzac day, was “tricky politics”.
For a full breakdown on the announcement, you can read this article and this explainer.
The government pledged $50m for research into long Covid after a parliamentary inquiry called for the establishment of a single Covid-19 database and a nationally coordinated research program into the condition.
A plan for Queensland to transition to a fully decriminalised sex work industry has broad support from the state government.
Jockey Dean Holland has died, aged 34, after a fall during a race in western Victoria.
A large undersea earthquake of magnitude 7.2 occurred at 10.41am AEST near the Kermadec Islands region in the Pacific, north of New Zealand. There was no tsunami threat to Australia or New Zealand.
Updated
China has hit back at Australia’s unveiling of a defence force revamp, saying it is striving for a peaceful region, AAP is reporting.
Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China’s unprecedented military buildup policy is “defensive in nature”, when asked about Australia’s new posture towards long-range strike power.
After the announcement on Monday, she said:
We are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and the whole world.
We do not pose any challenge to any country. We hope relevant countries will not hype up the so-called China threat narrative.
Updated
