Telstra CEO receives $700k pay rise even after 20% bonus cut over nationwide outage
Luca Ittimani
Telstra has paid its chief executive, Vicki Brady, $6.8m for the year ending in June, after docking 20% of her bonus in response to the network’s nationwide outage last month.
The company reported financial results today and said its board decided to cut Brady’s bonus by $607,000 when it met on Monday. Brady took home $6.1m the year before, so she still got a $700,000 pay rise.
The company has faced heavy political criticism for its handling of the outage, which it has blamed on the lack of a software update on a key time-keeping system.
Telstra also docked 20% of the bonus for its former networks group executive and 10% of all other senior executives, the equivalent of $1.3m unpaid. The company’s results show senior executives were paid $20.7m combined for the year.
The company reported its profits rose to $2.4bn, from $2.3bn the prior year. It paid shareholders a dividend of 21 cents per share over the year.
The strong result was helped by job cuts, with employee numbers falling 1,219 to total 29,334 by June. It was also helped by steep price rises: income from mobile phones rose $300m, with customers paying an extra 7.2% on prepaid handheld plans and an extra 3.4% on postpaid handheld plans. Despite the rising prices, Telstra sold 1m more mobile plans, and now has 26m services in operation.
Updated at 20.44 EDT
Key events
Penry Buckley
NSW opposition leader removes upper house member from state executive
The NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, has removed upper house member Chris Rath as her representative on the party’s state executive after the NSW Icac heard evidence about how he assisted members of conservative factional group the Reformers.
On Wednesday, Jeremy Greenwood told the commission that during a parliamentary inquiry which preceded Icac’s probe, Rath sent him a photo of a committee paper with his old address saying process servers had attempt to issue him with summons there. Greenwood was read a message from Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet advising of a committee meeting on serving summons. “Rath will tell us result after,” Jean-Claude Perrottet wrote.
The opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, has declined to make a decision about Rath’s future on her front bench until after Icac’s hearings conclude. The shadow planning and arts minister, who received a caution from the parliamentary privileges committee in 2023 and recused himself from the inquiry, has been referred to the privileges committee a second time over the incident.
In a statement following a Sydney Morning Herald report about the assistance he had provided to members of the Reformers, Rathe, said he was “apologetic”:
double quotation markThis Inquiry commenced in the highly politically charged context of an election campaign, and at the time I didn’t comprehend the gravity of the allegations … I am not under investigation by Icac, nor have I been called as a witness to the inquiry or asked to provide any evidence.
Australians should get a financial stake in Tomago smelter, Greens say
The Greens say the public should get a stake in the Tomago aluminium smelter, after the government announced a $2.5bn bailout package.
The package is funded 50-50 by the New South Wales government and commonwealth.
The Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne says a public stake would ensure Australians get a proper share of wealth from national resources and increase worker security:
double quotation markWe can’t trust private companies with our workers, our resources, or our climate.
The big-business parties seem to love anything that privatises the profits from Australian resources. They endlessly funnel public funds into propping up the dying projects of multinational corporations, often the same corporations driving the climate crisis, with no return on investment for the everyday Australian.
Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 22.10 EDT
Nationals MP makes fiery speech on discarding of gambling reform recommations
Nationals MP Pat Conaghan has made a fiery speech in the House of Representative about gambling reforms.
He referred to explosive evidence heard at the parliamentary inquiry into the legislation earlier this month, where former rugby league star Luke Bateman alleged gambling company promoters supplied him with cocaine and alcohol and the betting industry exercised no duty of care.
Conaghan was deputy chair of the parliamentary committee led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, that handed down the ‘you win some, you lose more’ report in June 2023.
double quotation markWitness after witness came into this place and spoke of loved ones, family members, who were targeted by predatory online wagering services. Some of them survived deputy speaker. Some of them didn’t.
And we heard evidence, from a family member who had to cut down her brother, from a tree. Because he was targeted, even though he had tried and tried and tried to get away from these practices of online wagering services. And there are other people whose family members didn’t survive …
I ask, what’s the point? What is the point of being on a committee that delivers 31 recommendations unanimously? … This comes from evidence from people who have been affected. This comes from the intelligence of every single member sitting in this place on that committee, and we say, this is what should be implemented. Just to be discarded.
Updated at 22.07 EDT
Jason Clare says trust in the Australian Research Council was damaged under the Coalition
The education minister says the Australian Research Council (ARC) needs “trust” to pursue its best ideas in a dig at accusations of political interference under the Coalition.
Speaking on its 25th anniversary in Canberra on Thursday, Jason Clare said:
double quotation markThe role of the ARC is to give our best researchers the opportunity to follow their best ideas. And that requires something else. Trust. Trust in researchers. Trust in peer review. Trust in the institutions we establish to make these decisions.
And over the years, that trust had been damaged. Before we came to Government, the ARC was bedevilled by political interference. That wasn’t good for our universities. It wasn’t good for businesses who work with our universities either.
Clare said Labor removed the power of ministers to approve ARC grants because “politicians should not decide which physicist, historian or mathematician has written the better research proposal”.
double quotation markResearch excellence should be judged by people who understand the research.
National Union of Students calls out One Nation’s ‘racist policies’ ahead of nationwide protest
The National Union of Students (NUS) says they will not “sit quietly” ahead of a nationwide protest against Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, taking place from 1pm today.
The walkout was organised by the NUS, which represents tertiary education students in Australia. Students will gather in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Newcastle and Wollongong in opposition to the party’s “racist policies”.
Its national president, Felix Hughes, said:
double quotation markPauline Hanson’s racist politics are not welcome on our campuses or in our communities. Pauline Hanson has spent decades making racism a political strategy. Students will not sit quietly while One Nation tries to drag those politics further into the mainstream.
Hughes also backed international students as “our classmates, not our enemies”:
double quotation markThey are not responsible for the housing crisis or the cost of living, and we will not let Hanson turn students against each other to advance her racist politics.
Students also organised mass moratorium marches against Hanson’s growing popularity in the 1990s.
Updated at 21.22 EDT
Greens praise David McBride after his release from prison
The Greens are celebrating the parole of David McBride from prison today after the former army lawyer served his full non-parole period of 27 months.
Their justice spokesperson, Senator David Shoebridge, said McBride had paid a “terrible price for telling the truth”.
double quotation markIt’s a price no whistleblower should ever be made to pay again. The Albanese government has had the power to free David since they got elected and refused to act … David walks out of prison today and he holds his head high, having spoken the truth and faced the full force of the state.
Shoebridge also called for better protection of whistleblowers, calling McBride’s sentencing a “warning to every public servant who might one day consider speaking up”.
double quotation markWhen I have visited him in prison during his more than two years locked up, David’s commitment to truth has been unwavering and I know he took immense comfort in the support he has in the community at large.
Updated at 21.19 EDT
Minns steps in as Albanese faces more heat on melon-gate
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, stepped in to defend the PM and deflect questions over melongate which have plagued Anthony Albanese all week.
Chris Minns and Anthony Albanese at Tomago Aluminium in NSW this morning. Photograph: Darren Pateman/AAP
At the press conference in Tomago earlier, Albanese was again asked what he meant by his comments and hand gestures in the now infamous Bush Deep podcast before Minns intervened and said:
double quotation markGo and ask 1,000 workers what they care about today. This is the biggest announcement for this region in a generation.
Can we just talk about it for 5 minutes?
(They had spent already well over five minutes talking about the announcement).
Updated at 21.19 EDT
‘A terrific speech’: Canavan supports Bragg but warns against changing backpacker visa numbers
The Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, says he doesn’t want to see working holiday visas touched in the effort to reduce migration numbers.
But he’s playing nice, saying his colleague Andrew Bragg gave a “terrific speech” to the National Press Club yesterday.
Matt Canavan this morning. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Bragg said that net overseas migration numbers should be dropped to 180,000 a year (in the 2024-25 financial year the NOM was 306,000, and is predicted to drop to about 260,000 in the 2025-26 financial year). He said the way to get there is to drop the number of international students, working holiday visas and family visas.
Canavan told a press conference a little earlier:
double quotation markLook, I thought Andrew gave a terrific speech. He’s doing excellent work on exposing the deficiencies in the government’s housing agenda, the almost complete lack of homes that are being built.
All Andrew said was that we’ll look at all these things to bring migration numbers down. Now, I will say, though, that as leader of the Nationals party, we will not be changing, we’ll not be seeking changes to working holiday visa makers, because that’s not the reason why we’ve had the surge in migration.
Updated at 21.14 EDT
Mortgage repayment burden back near peak: RBA
Patrick Commins
Australia’s mortgage repayment burden is back near its 2024 peak, as Chris Kent, an assistant governor at the Reserve Bank, said the housing market downturn reduced the need for further rate hikes.
Kent, who is in charge of financial markets at the RBA, said the budget’s tax reforms “appear to have contributed to reduced demand in the established housing market by lowering the after-tax return from housing for investors”.
“While it is hard to be precise, the housing market appears to have softened by somewhat more than the recent increase in interest rates would imply”.
Kent said even in Sydney and Melbourne where property prices falls have been most acute, prices are only “back to where they were only a short while ago”.
A couple of days after the RBA board held the cash rate at 4.35%, Kent outlined how this year’s three interest rate hikes were having their intended effect on slowing the economy.
double quotation markScheduled mortgage payments have risen and are now close to their 2024 peak as a share of household disposable income.
But he also noted that AI-related spending here (most notably on data centres) and abroad were working against the bank’s efforts to slow inflation.
double quotation markBy itself, this AI activity means that policy rates need to be higher than otherwise, at least in the short run.
Updated at 21.23 EDT
Acoss denies Bragg’s claims they want a 30% super guarantee
The Australian council of social services (Acoss) has rebuffed Andrew Bragg’s claims this morning that they want a 30% super guarantee.
Bragg made the comments to RN Breakfast this morning, which you can read here.
The group’s position, in fact, from 2020 was that any superannuation increases above 10% needed to be based on evidence that they would benefit people on low incomes across their lifetime.
The current superannuation rate is 12%.
In a submission to the government’s retirements incomes review in 2020, Acoss stipulated that increases to super above 10% should ensure low income workers are “not forced to save too much for retirement when they face financial challenges in working life”.
Updated at 20.46 EDT
Bragg’s views ‘personal’ not official policy says Taylor
Angus Taylor has not endorsed Andrew Bragg’s net overseas migration target of 180,000, and says the shadow housing minister’s speech yesterday was based on his “personal views”.
It’s a rebuke of the speech that has ruffled some feathers internally across the Coalition.
Taylor doesn’t want to put a figure on what the Coalition wants net migration to be, but says it would be capped to new housing builds.
double quotation markAndrew expressed some of his personal views yesterday. I’ve made clear to him that his job is to express … the views of the Coalition and the senior team of which he is a member when it comes to immigration policy.
Net overseas migration will depend on housing supply. It will be capped.
Updated at 20.35 EDT
Taylor avoids questions on whether he spoke to McInerney about providing money to reformers
Angus Taylor has refused to answer questions on whether he spoke to Dallas McInerney about providing thousands of dollars to the reformers group.
Evidence aired in an Icac hearing showed text messages referencing Taylor had agreed to pay a $15,000 “injection” and a $3000 monthly donation to the right-wing group.
Taylor told a press conference this morning he had already answered questions about the money. He’s previously said “no payment was made”.
There’s some back and forth between him and the journalist, who says they’re asking a specific question about whether Taylor spoke to McInerney about this money.
Taylor keeps repeating, “I have said all along I’m not going to give a running commentary.”
double quotation markNo payment was made. I was clear about that. You get to ask the questions I get to answer them and I’ve answered the question. Happy to take other questions.
ShareTelstra CEO receives $700k pay rise even after 20% bonus cut over nationwide outageLuca Ittimani
Telstra has paid its chief executive, Vicki Brady, $6.8m for the year ending in June, after docking 20% of her bonus in response to the network’s nationwide outage last month.
The company reported financial results today and said its board decided to cut Brady’s bonus by $607,000 when it met on Monday. Brady took home $6.1m the year before, so she still got a $700,000 pay rise.
The company has faced heavy political criticism for its handling of the outage, which it has blamed on the lack of a software update on a key time-keeping system.
Telstra also docked 20% of the bonus for its former networks group executive and 10% of all other senior executives, the equivalent of $1.3m unpaid. The company’s results show senior executives were paid $20.7m combined for the year.
The company reported its profits rose to $2.4bn, from $2.3bn the prior year. It paid shareholders a dividend of 21 cents per share over the year.
The strong result was helped by job cuts, with employee numbers falling 1,219 to total 29,334 by June. It was also helped by steep price rises: income from mobile phones rose $300m, with customers paying an extra 7.2% on prepaid handheld plans and an extra 3.4% on postpaid handheld plans. Despite the rising prices, Telstra sold 1m more mobile plans, and now has 26m services in operation.
Updated at 20.44 EDT
Penry Buckley
Catholic Schools NSW CEO to appear before Icac
The Catholic Schools NSW CEO, Dallas McInerney, will appear before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) when it resumes its hearings at 10am this morning.
As part of its investigation into alleged corruption in the NSW Liberal party, Icac is investigating whether illegal donations were made by the governing body for 600 schools in the state, arranged and approved by McInerney, to support the alleged branch stacking efforts of conservative Christian group the Reformers.
The inquiry has repeatedly heard a message sent by McInerney, who is a factional ally of federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, to a Reformer advising of a plan to “shake down Angus for 10K”.
Taylor has not been named in Icac’s allegations and has repeatedly denied he ever made payments to the Reformers.
Updated at 20.02 EDT
Lisa Cox
Tasmania must be prepared for ‘risk of mass mortality event’ after bird flu detected
Tasmania’s environment minister, Guy Barnett, said the community “must be prepared for the risk of a mass mortality event”.
He said Tasmania had worked closely with the federal government to develop protection plans for the most at-risk species including the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot, the Tasmanian devil, the shy albatross, the short-tailed shearwater, the Furneaux white-fronted tern, the fairy and little tern, Australian and long-nosed fur seal, and the Australasian gannet.
Barnett said as soon as the state received approval it would begin vaccinating up to 350 captive orange-bellied parrots:
double quotation markWe’ve been working with the commonwealth to get approval to vaccinate our orange-bellied parrots, and I’m very pleased that we’re now very close to being able to commence that work ahead of our scheduled release of birds to the wild.
He said the captive facility at Five Mile beach was central to the national breeding program and already operated under strict biosecurity arrangements.
double quotation markAdditional protective measures, including specialised shade cloth infrastructure, are being implemented to reduce the risk of disease transmission from wild birds to captive parrots.
Tasmanian environment minister Guy Barnett. Photograph: AAPShare
Updated at 20.00 EDT
Victorian premier tells students planning to walk out in protest against Pauline Hanson to ‘stay in school’
Benita Kolovos
At the end of his press conference, Victorian premier Ben Carroll was asked about the national student protests against One Nation and Pauline Hanson.
Thousands of school students will attend protests around the country today, including in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Carroll said:
double quotation markFirst and foremost, my message to every student is: if you want to change the world, stay at school, focus on what your learning is in the classroom. I understand they’re angry with the sentiment and the policies of One Nation, but the best way to change your future in the world is to get an education and to stay in school.
Updated at 20.46 EDT
‘We should learn from the mistakes from the past’: Albanese
Anthony Albanese says the bailout comes back to jobs and sovereign capability, hammering in the point of Australia not being at the end of supply chains.
This is pretty front of mind at the moment, with the world having experienced multiple supply chain crunches due to global conflict in recent years.
He brings up the death of the car manufacturing industry and the closure of oil refineries in Australia as mistakes from the past that governments should learn from.
double quotation markThe fact that oil refineries shut in this country under the former government that now we’re having to go out there and look at how do we become more sovereign. How do we become more resilient? And the idea that we would sit back and watch this facility just disappear is not in Australia’s national interest.
This will produce a return to Australia. This is connected up with an increasing clean energy, which will drive this change through. It’s connected up with not just the jobs that are created directly here, but their indirect jobs that will flow through the manufacturing sector right throughout this country.
ShareDavid McBride to leave prison after parole granted
Tom McIlroy
David McBride is being released from prison in Canberra this morning.
He has served his full non-parole period of 27 months.
In May 2024, the former army lawyer was sentenced to a maximum five years and eight months in jail for his role in stealing secret defence documents about the Afghanistan war and leaking them to the media.
McBride pleaded guilty to three charges in November after the court upheld a commonwealth intervention to withhold key evidence the government argued had the potential to jeopardise “the security and defence of Australia”. The charges included stealing commonwealth information and passing that on to journalists at the ABC.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, approved McBride’s parole request this morning.
A spokesperson for Rowland confirmed his release to Guardian Australia.
double quotation markMr McBride’s parole was considered and granted.
The government does not provide specific commentary or details about individual parole matters.
David McBride. Photograph: Adam FergusonShare
Updated at 19.46 EDT