Liberal senator Sarah Henderson says she makes no apology for calling Triple Zero yesterday to check whether her calls would be connected, despite not doing so again today.
Labor frontbenchers have labelled yesterday’s move as “absolutely outrageous” given the network needed to be kept clear for people in genuine emergencies.
“I make no apology for doing my job,” Henderson told radio station 3AW this morning. “As the shadow minister, I have a particular job to do, and I certainly take that job very seriously.”
The senator, who is the Coalition’s communications spokesperson, doubled down on earlier remarks she made on 2GB radio this morning and rejected any suggestion she had broken the law by calling Triple Zero even though she wasn’t experiencing an emergency.
“The law is very clear. It relates to those who make hoax or vexatious emergency calls. I wasn’t doing either of those things. In all honesty, these are desperate claims from a desperate minister.”
Henderson confirmed she had not tried calling Triple Zero this morning to once again test the connection.
“Of course I haven’t. Telstra has made it clear that people should not make test calls. That advice came in after I made those initial calls.”