Angus Taylor has defended his shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson's decision to make unnecessary calls to the triple-zero emergency line during Telstra's nationwide outage on Wednesday, stating she was "doing her job." The opposition leader dismissed concerns about Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle's claim that an elderly person died as a result of the outage, a claim initially unconfirmed by South Australian police but now under investigation.
Taylor's Defense of Henderson's Actions
During a combative press conference on Thursday, Taylor deflected questions about Henderson's repeated calls to triple zero, which occurred as Telstra experienced a major network failure. "The shadow minister had to do what she had to do, because of the failure of the minister – not for the first time – but for the second time," Taylor said. He added that he had told Henderson to do her job, and she was doing exactly that.
Criminal penalties can apply to individuals who call triple zero without an emergency, but Henderson argued that her role placed her in a "unique position" to test whether the system was functioning. Taylor accused the government of focusing on "political spin" rather than addressing real issues, after ministers like Tim Ayres criticized Henderson's actions as "utterly irresponsible."
Investigation into Claimed Outage-Related Death
Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle posted on social media that an elderly person in South Australia died because they could not connect to triple zero during the outage. Initially, South Australia police stated they were unaware of any such death. However, late Thursday, police confirmed they had commenced an investigation after speaking with Liddle and contacting the deceased's family.
Police revealed they had repeatedly tried to contact Liddle on Wednesday night for information about her Facebook post but failed. A staff member informed police that Liddle's office would not provide any information. On Thursday, police attended Liddle's office and spoke with her and her staff, leading to contact with the family of an individual who died at a regional hospital on Wednesday. Police were not notified of the death but immediately launched an investigation.
Criticism and Defense of Liddle's Actions
South Australia's police minister, Michael Brown, criticized Liddle for making public claims without backing them up. Liddle expressed disappointment, stating that Brown chose to question her integrity. She defended her actions, saying her office advised the family to inform police and that she prioritized the family's privacy amid public interest. "Anyone impacted by this outage should tell their story to Telstra, Minister Anika Wells, and to relevant authorities," Liddle said.
Telstra confirmed on Thursday morning that some customers struggled to make triple-zero calls due to a "secondary issue," though the occurrence had been reduced by 90%. The Australian Communications and Media Authority will review the incident. Communications minister Anika Wells stated on Wednesday that welfare checks were being conducted on people unable to reach triple zero.
