Overview
- An internal Department of Parliamentary Services email directed MPs and staff in specified areas to power down phones, tablets and laptops, place mobile devices in lockdown mode, and switch off Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth during the Chinese delegation’s movements.
- The advisory included a mapped route through the House of Representatives wing, the ministerial wing and the prime minister’s courtyard, and cautioned of intermittent Wi‑Fi disruptions.
- When asked why the measures were necessary, DPS did not detail any specific threat and described the notice as routine advice to building occupants.
- Opposition figures criticised the scale of the precautions, while security analysts called them prudent given ASIO’s recent warnings, including Mike Burgess’s alert about a risk of high‑impact sabotage.
- Zhao Leji held largely private meetings in Canberra, including a breakfast with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after engagements with the governor‑general and presiding officers, as heavy security and opposing protests were visible outside and a gallery visit preceded his departure.