Angus Taylor has defended his shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson's decision to make unnecessary calls to triple-zero during Telstra's nationwide outage, stating she was "doing her job." The opposition leader also dismissed concerns about Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle's claim that an elderly person died as a result of the outage, which South Australian police initially said they were unaware of.
Police investigate death linked to outage
South Australian police issued a statement late on Thursday confirming they are now investigating a death in regional SA after speaking with Liddle and contacting a family member of the deceased. The fallout from Wednesday's outage continues, with Telstra confirming some customers struggled to make triple-zero calls due to a "secondary issue," which has been reduced by 90%.
Taylor deflects criticism of Henderson
Taylor accused the government of focusing on "political spin" rather than real issues, after ministers like Tim Ayres criticised Henderson's actions as "utterly irresponsible." Criminal penalties can apply for unnecessary triple-zero calls, but Henderson said she was testing the system due to her "unique position." In a combative press conference on Thursday, Taylor said: "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."
Liddle's claim under scrutiny
Liddle's social media post claimed an elderly person died after being unable to connect to triple-zero during a "life-or-death emergency." Police initially said they were unaware of any such death, and South Australia's police minister Michael Brown criticised Liddle for making public claims without backing them up. Liddle defended her actions, saying she prioritised the family's privacy and advised them to inform police.
Investigation launched
At 4pm Thursday, SA police commenced an investigation after speaking with Liddle and a staffer. Police said they repeatedly tried to contact Liddle on Wednesday night but were told her office would not provide information. On Thursday, police attended Liddle's office and subsequently made contact with the family of an individual who died at a regional hospital on Wednesday. Police were not notified of the death. The Australian Communications and Media Authority will review the incident.
