Opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson has refused to apologize for carrying out the Triple Zero test, despite being criticized by the emergency services minister for doing so.
On ABC Afternoon Summary A short time ago, broadcaster Patricia Karvelas suggested that Henderson made a mistake by calling Triple Zero when he was not in an emergency.
Henderson said the suggestion was ridiculous, and said he was just doing his job.
Well, Patricia, first, let me say that that is an outrageous claim. The law deals with those who make scam calls or harassing calls.
I, like many Australians, have very little faith in our telecommunications networks, and also the ability of the Albanian government to manage our Triple Zero network.
Last year, when Optus received several early calls saying its Triple Zero network was down, Optus ignored the calls. So, as the shadow communications minister responsible for this portfolio, I made those calls (today) and found that I couldn’t connect to Triple Zero. I then alerted a senior Telstra representative.
It is very important in my position that I was informed of the relevant information, and also that I communicated it directly to Telstra. Now, to be absolutely clear, it is advice from Telstra that emergency phone camping is working, but we also know that some of the Triple Zero calls were not working, and I will not apologize for doing my job, and it is time for this minister to start doing his job better than he is doing now.
