Japan wins $10bn contract to build Australian naval ships
Tom McIlroy
The defence minister, Richard Marles, will announce this morning that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build the Royal Australian Navy’s new $10bn frigate fleet.
The Japanese company beat out Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems for the deal.
Marles and the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, will make the announcement just before 9am this morning.
The national security committee of cabinet made the decision last night, choosing the Japanese-built Mogami frigate.
The first three frigates will be built overseas before being brought to Australia by 2029. The rest are expected to be built at the Henderson shipyards in Perth.
The new general purpose warships are designed to replace the ageing Anzac-class frigates, as they are retired from service by the navy.
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Updated at 00.51 BST
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Police divers aiding search for woman swept away in floodwaters
NSW police divers are joining the search for a woman swept away by flood waters near Cessnock on Saturday.
Rescuers have been searching for the woman, 26, for days after responding to reports a car was trapped in a flood in the town of Rothbury. Officers said the driver of the car, a Mini Countryman, attempted to travel through flood waters before becoming stuck. The driver, a 27-year-old woman, was rescued, but the passenger was swept away.
The missing woman is a Chinese national who was working as an engineer in Australia, where she has lived for three years.
ShareAnne Davies
NSW opposition supports Ward’s expulsion
Mark Speakman, leader of the NSW opposition, said he will support the government in seeking Gareth Ward’s expulsion.
Speakman said:
The opposition will support Gareth Ward’s expulsion and work with the government to get this done as quickly as possible. However, Mr Ward’s legal team should do whatever it takes to get a clear message to him – immediately resign.
Every day he clings to his seat from a jail cell, taxpayers are footing the bill and the people of Kiama are left voiceless. It’s not just wrong, it’s offensive.
Ward’s conviction has thrown the NSW parliament into uncharted territory. As an independent he has not had the usual pressure to resign. He remains eligible to sit in parliament until all appeals are exhausted. However, the parliament has power to expel him if his conduct would damage the integrity of the parliament and endanger its proper functioning.
The government had planned to begin moves to expel him today with a vote expected Wednesday.
NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPShare
Updated at 00.31 BST
Gareth Ward seeks injunction blocking expulsion from NSW parliament
Anne Davies
Convicted rapist MP Gareth Ward has sought an injunction to stop him being expelled from the New South Wales parliament, which will see him remain, for now, the state member for Kiama.
Ward has commenced the proceedings via his lawyers from Silverwater jail where he has been remanded pending sentence in the criminal proceedings in September. He has said he will appeal against his conviction on three counts of indecent assault and one for sexual intercourse without consent.
The premier, Chris Minns, said on 2GB on Tuesday that Ward’s lawyers had sought the interim injunction overnight against the leader of the lower house, Ron Hoenig, and speaker, Greg Piper, which prevented the parliament moving a suspension order until the court can deal with the application. The government has sought an urgent supreme court hearing later in the week.
Minns told 2GB:
We’ve got a week of parliament to sit, and I think that most people would appreciate, it’s an unconscionable situation to have someone who’s currently sitting in jail in Silverwater, convicted of serious sexual offences, who is demanding to remain a member of parliament and continue to be paid.
Gareth Ward. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPShare
Updated at 00.30 BST
Melbourne Demons sack coach Simon Goodwin
Simon Goodwin, Melbourne’s only AFL premiership coach in the past 60 years, has been sacked by the Demons, AAP reports.
The former Adelaide champion, who led the club to its drought-breaking 2021 flag, has been let go by the Demons after just seven wins this season.
Simon Goodwin, right, after the AFL Round 21 match between the Melbourne Demons and the West Coast Eagles on Saturday. Photograph: Michael Willson/AFL Photos/Getty Images
Taking over from Paul Roos in a succession plan for the 2017 season, Goodwin led Melbourne to their first premiership in 57 years.
But off-field turmoil and dwindling performances on the field placed the 48-year-old’s job in jeopardy.
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Updated at 00.26 BST
All Sydney ferries back up and running after heavy fog
All ferries in Sydney have resumed services after they were halted amid heavy fog.
✔️ UPDATE: All F3 Parramatta River services have resumed following heavy fog earlier.
— Sydney Ferries Info (@FerriesInfo) August 4, 2025
Here are some photos from the Kirribilli wharf this morning, with the Sydney Opera House in the distance.
Photograph: Nick Luke Photograph: Nick LukeShare
Here’s some video footage of Sydney Harbour this morning
Sydney Harbour filled with morning fog – videoShare
Updated at 00.30 BST
Japan wins $10bn contract to build Australian naval ships
Tom McIlroy
The defence minister, Richard Marles, will announce this morning that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build the Royal Australian Navy’s new $10bn frigate fleet.
The Japanese company beat out Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems for the deal.
Marles and the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, will make the announcement just before 9am this morning.
The national security committee of cabinet made the decision last night, choosing the Japanese-built Mogami frigate.
The first three frigates will be built overseas before being brought to Australia by 2029. The rest are expected to be built at the Henderson shipyards in Perth.
The new general purpose warships are designed to replace the ageing Anzac-class frigates, as they are retired from service by the navy.
Share
Updated at 00.51 BST
Jordyn Beazley
So, just how big was the march on the Sydney Harbour Bridge?
The number of people who joined a pro-Palestine march across Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday exceeded everyone’s expectations.
But just how many braved the rainy weather to urge the Australian government to do more to pressure Israel to stop the death and destruction in Gaza? That’s been a sticking point.
The march on Sunday in Sydney. Photograph: Flavio Brancaleone/EPA
New South Wales police said initial estimates put the crowd at 90,000. A spokesperson for rally organisers, the Palestine Action Group, said police had informed them 100,000 people were in attendance – but the group estimated the figure was closer to 300,000.
What does an independent expert have to say?
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Updated at 23.31 BST
Sydney wakes up to a shroud of fog
Some pictures of the fog that blanketed Sydney this morning:
Photograph: Webcamsydney.com Photograph: Cressida Gaukroger Photograph: Kaaren Morrissey/AAP Photograph: Kaaren Morrissey/AAPShare
Updated at 23.19 BST
Shadow attorney general says recognising Palestinian statehood would send ‘bad signal’
The shadow attorney general, Julian Leeser, said the recognition of a Palestinian state by Australia would reward Hamas and send a “bad signal around the world”. Leeser spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying while he wants to see a two-state solution, he believes the world is “further away from that today than at any point in the past”.
Lesser said:
I don’t want to see people suffering. I want to see the aid getting through and I want to see Hamas releasing the hostages because it’s only when the hostages are released and only when Hamas plays no further part in the future of the region that a stable and lasting peace in the Middle East can come about. …
I think [recognising a Palestinian state] will send a bad signal around the world to other terrorist organisations that if you increase your level of intransigence, if you maintain your position, then you will achieve your aims …
Let me be very clear, I want to see a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. It’s something I’ve believed in for decades. But we seem to be further away from that today than at any point in the past, and that is largely because of the role that Hamas is playing in Gaza.
Julian Leeser. Photograph: Tamati Smith/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 23.09 BST