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Optus’ network failed for triple zero calls, contributing to three deaths, CEO says
Optus’s CEO, Stephen Rue, says the telecommunications company had an outage affecting triple zero calls.
He said the matter was still being investigated, but he apologised to the three families affected, two in South Australia and one in Western Australia.
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Here’s the story we did about the 2024 outage. Optus was fined $12m for that issue, which also prevented people calling triple zero.
Rue added:
We will continue to do an investigation, I assure you, we will get to the facts, we will make them public.
Again, I sincerely apologise to those people who lost their lives.
On calling the press conference late on Friday, he said:
We have been establishing the facts…when they came to light, we’ve been doing welfare checks during the day, they have just been completed.
Rue confirmed part of the investigation would be why another network had not covered these calls while the Optus upgrade was occurring.
He said normal calls were going through at this time but triple-0 calls were impacted. The exact duration of the outage is also being investigated.
‘This is not about me’: Optus CEO declines to weigh in on his future at telco
Of being fined $12m for a similar problem in 2024, after which Rue and the federal government said it would never happen again, he said:
I share your frustration. This should not have happened.
We are doing a thorough investigation.
The facts are still being established.
This is not acceptable.
Asked about his own future, given this had happened under his watch, Rue said:
Today is not about me, this is about the people who lost their lives.
Optus CEO apologises for deaths
Rue, the Optus CEO, says of these deaths:
I am so sorry for your loss.
We have let you down.
We will cooperate fully and transparently with all government agencies and regulatory bodies while we investigate this matter further.
Optus outage also occurred in NT
Optus says that yesterday’s network outage during an upgrade also affected the Northern Territory.
Rue said it was frustrating that a similar issue occurred in 2024.
About 600 people were affected, and a proportion of the calls did not go through.
The failure has been rectified.
After welfare checks, it was found that three people had died, Rue said, noting checks were ongoing.
Optus’ network failed for triple zero calls, contributing to three deaths, CEO says
Optus’s CEO, Stephen Rue, says the telecommunications company had an outage affecting triple zero calls.
He said the matter was still being investigated, but he apologised to the three families affected, two in South Australia and one in Western Australia.
Former NSW MP should receive lighter sentence due to ‘enormous fall from grace’ after rape conviction, court hears
Lawyers for convicted rapist Gareth Ward have argued in court that he should receive a lighter sentence because of his “enormous fall from grace”, including the loss of his political career.
Ward, 44, resigned as a New South Wales MP last month, just hours before he was to be kicked out of parliament. He is due to learn his fate at the end of October, but faced a sentencing hearing on Friday.
Ward appeared before the Parramatta district court via video link from Cessnock prison, where he has been remanded in custody awaiting sentencing.
You can read more on that story here:
Seven teens charged after alleged stabbing murders
Adeshola Ore
Victoria Police have charged seven teenagers with the alleged stabbing murders of 15-year-old Dau Akueng and 12-year-old Chol Achiek in Melbourne’s west earlier this month.
It comes after homicide squad detectives arrested seven people in early morning raids on Friday. The oldest arrested was 19 and the youngest 15.
The three adults will face the Melbourne magistrates’ court this afternoon, police said. The four children will appear at a children’s court this afternoon.
A 19-year-old Thornhill man, 16-year-old Sunbury boy, 15-year-old Hillside boy and 16-year-old Sydenham boy have been charged with Dau’s murder.
A 19-year-old Caroline Springs man, 18-year-old Wollert man and 16-year-old Sydenham boy have been charged with the murder of Achiek.
Federal government should end logging, fast-track energy infrastructure, Spender says
Spender says the federal government should prioritise ending native forest logging and speeding up the process for approvals of renewable energy infrastructure. She told the ABC:
We are a massive country … We have an opportunity to put in a lot of renewable energy resources. At the moment it is just too slow and that makes it too expensive and makes a more expensive than it should be.
If we are going to do this, I don’t think it’s about our commitment to the environment. What it is about is … speeding up the processes … particularly [between] federal government and state governments.
Independent Allegra Spender says ‘we really have to aim for the top end’ of emissions target
Allegra Spender, the independent MP for Wentworth, says the upper limit on the range set for emissions reduction by 2035 should be what the federal government aims for. She told the ABC:
I take the Climate Change Authority advice very seriously. I recognised … 62-70% is an appropriate range.
As that is the final report … we should aim for the top end of that range.
Aim for the 70%. If we can get beyond that, great.
Having this broad range could mean we don’t have the right incentives left so we really have to aim for the top end.
Kean dodges question on opposition’s refusal to back emissions target
Kean ducks a question from the ABC on whether he would like to see the opposition sign up to the emissions target, which it has refused to do.
I would like to see all Australians sign up to delivering an economy that is stronger and more prosperous for future generations, while at the same time delivering a planet that is cleaner, better and safer for … Australians.
That’s exactly what underpins the Climate Change Authority’s advice to the government, and I’m thrilled they accepted it, and I encourage other political actors and people across the community of goodwill to look at the work done, to again get on board with that agenda of building a stronger economy and a safe and clean environment for everyone.
