Telstra CEO Vicki Brady has publicly apologised for a national outage on Wednesday that disrupted trains, transactions, and some triple zero calls. Brady cut short an overseas trip to address the media, expressing that she is 'deeply sorry' for the incident.
Cause of the Outage
The outage was triggered by a software fault in Telstra's time-telling systems, which erroneously told the rest of its network that the current date was November 2006. This error caused widespread failures across Telstra's services.
Brady acknowledged that Telstra was aware of the risks associated with a failure of its time systems. She stated that the company is now investigating why backup measures failed to prevent the outage. 'We knew the risks, and we are looking into why our backups did not work as intended,' she said.
Impact and Response
The outage affected train services, financial transactions, and some emergency calls to triple zero, causing significant disruption across the country. South Australian police have ruled out any link between a death and the outage, while the communications minister stated that it was 'time for Telstra to face the music.'
Brady's apology comes as Telstra faces scrutiny over its infrastructure resilience. The company has pledged to implement measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Other News Highlights
In other news, broadcaster Derryn Hinch has died at the age of 82. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will not attend the Garma festival despite a previous commitment to do so annually. Police have discovered the body of a teenage girl in Victorian bushland after she vanished over the weekend. The Northern Territory children's commissioner has resigned over changes to child protection that remove the Indigenous placement principle. Pianist Jayson Gillham lost a discrimination case against the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra over comments about Gaza. Deadly H5 bird flu has been found in a local Australian seabird for the first time.
In sports, France secured a spot in the World Cup semi-finals after defeating Morocco 2-1, with Kylian Mbappé scoring a stunning opener and assisting Ousmane Dembélé for the second goal. Coach Didier Deschamps praised his team, saying, 'This is a human venture we are sharing. It's never the same situation or conditions. The most important thing in my life has always been the jersey and it's good to see this group feel the same way.'
In a cultural event, a remote arts centre in Ramingining in Arnhem Land staged its inaugural fashion week, celebrating local Aboriginal artists, models, and community.
Swim champion Kaylee McKeown has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games due to glandular fever, a major blow to Australia's team. She expressed her disappointment, saying, 'I am gutted to medically withdraw.'
In politics, Inner West council mayor Darcy Byrne is leading a grassroots movement on curbing gambling harm, pushing for a reduction in poker machines in licensed clubs in New South Wales. He compares the poker machine lobby to the National Rifle Association of America.
Finally, Lars Bill shares his experience sailing around the world in a replica 10th-century Viking longboat, the Saga Farmann.
