Australia news live: China hits back at Penny Wong’s comments; Victorian teachers due to begin strike

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Caitlin Cassidy with the main action. More than 35,000 teachers, principals and education support staff are expected to gather in Melbourne’s CBD today as they go on strike after rejecting a pay deal proposed by the state government. More coming up. Australia is not ruling out stepping up joint patrols of the South China Sea after “destabilising” missile testing in the region, Penny Wong said last night as she attends the Asean summit in Manila. But China has hit back, with its foreign ministry spokesman urging “relevant countries to stop stirring up tension and inciting confrontation”. We have more on this soon.