Telstra says Australians can ‘feel confident’ calling triple zero after outages
Telstra officials are holding a press conference into issues with the company’s network, including failed calls to triple zero.
CFO Michael Ackland said customers can now “feel confident” in calling triple zero, but issued an apology for the disruption.
He said Telstra had completed 639 welfare checks during the outage. 230 said via SMS that they did not require a further response. 402 required follow-up calls, 170 of which were passed on to police.
Seven people said they needed emergency assistance and they were referred to the relevant emergency services organisations.
Ackland said Telstra teams were working as quickly as possible to resolve any lingering issues.
double quotation markI want to again apologise for the disruption that these issues have caused to our customers and to the broader community. We know how important it is to stay connected and we take this responsibility very seriously.
Updated at 23.18 EDT
Key events
Jordyn Beazley
Jillian Segal has completed her evidence and Gavin Fang, the editorial director of the ABC, is now giving evidence. He began by answering a question on how the ABC has covered antisemitism and its impacts on the Australian community:
double quotation markWe have attempted to center the experiences of the Jewish community in regards to coverage of antisemitism. We have covered the impact of a variety of attacks, for instance, on Jewish synagogues, on graffiti, and other incidences of anti-Semitism. We have covered the police and authorities and government responses to that.
We have covered the politics of that, and we have continued to try to do that both in our day-to-day and long-term reporting, including investigative current affairs shows through our Four Corners program, for example, all the way through to the recent national forum which we program, which explored antisemitism in Australia today.
Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster asked if a particular part of the ABC Charter requires reporting on the Middle East. Fang responded:
double quotation markWell, the ABC has a commitment to tell stories to Australian audiences through Australian eyes, and I think that’s an important part of our charter obligation. And so, reporting on important international events and events overseas that affect Australians in significant ways, like the conflict in the Middle East does, is part of us meeting our charter obligation to create news in current affairs that’s impartial and accurate and objective.
Lancaster also asked how the ABC’s charter requirements take account of the multicultural character of the Australian community is applied in its coverage of the Middle East conflict.
Fang said:
double quotation markThe Middle East conflict clearly impacts Australians personally. There are many people in Australia, many Australians that have a personal connection to the war and to the impact of that. And so, it’s important for us to provide comprehensive coverage of those events so that they can understand what’s going on.
In her evidence this morning, Segal had questioned why the public broadcasters weren’t covering other global issues as closely, saying “there are other wars that we don’t hear about at all in Africa.”
ShareJordyn Beazley
Segal: Broadcasters’ assertion that criticism of Israel does not equal criticism of Jewish people misunderstands ‘modern-day antisemitism’
Returning to the antisemitism royal commission: Jillian Segal was asked about the ABC’s ombudsman finding that its reporting of a mistaken figure by a UN official that 14,000 babies would die in 48 hours was not an issue of balance.
Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster asked: “Do you accept the incident does not suggest a lack of balance on the part of the ABC?”
Segal responded:
double quotation markI think balance is a very complicated story, isn’t it? Because they don’t say every story has to be balanced, it’s the total picture that has to be balanced, and they look at different stories at different times.
So I think that if you wanted balance after that negative story, should there have been a very positive story about what was being done positively in the Middle East to feed children? I’m not saying that, but I just find it very hard to comment on balance. It was inaccurate.
Segal said the SBS style guide which states that criticism of Israel’s policies or conduct is different from prejudice against Jewish people showed that the broadcaster does not understand “modern-day antisemitism”.
She referred to that “modern-day understanding” as being the conflation of Jewish identity with the state of Israel. She said:
double quotation markThat’s not to say that there shouldn’t be criticisms of Israel, but to specifically say any anti-Israel criticism is not the same as antisemitism is a rather broad statement, in my opinion.
Lancaster then asked: “You accept, as I understand it from your own statement, that there can be criticism of Israel with an antisemitic character.”
Segal responded:
double quotation markAbsolutely … If I was to rewrite this definition, I would say, whilst anti-Israel criticism is not the same as antisemitism, as per the IHRA definition, there are some instances where it amounts to the same thing.
Updated at 23.57 EDT
‘I think customers can trust the triple zero system’, Telstra CFO says
Telstra’s CFO, Michael Ackland, said no system is immune to issues, but Australians should still trust the triple zero network:
double quotation markI think customers can trust the triple zero system. It is a very robust system.
No system is completely immune from impacts and outage. We take this obligation incredibly seriously. We invest heavily in the resilience and redundancy of our system.
It is unacceptable what has happened and our focus is on how we addressed it.
He said they would work through compensation plans at a later time.
Updated at 23.30 EDT
Ackland said “one [missed triple zero] call is unacceptable … which is why we have the welfare check process in place so we are rapidly as possible following up with people whenever there is a failed call”.
He wouldn’t say it was a “Y2K”-esque issue that caused the outages, but said there was a glitch in Telstra software that reset a GPS timer and led to the network turmoil.
Updated at 23.24 EDT
Telstra says Australians can ‘feel confident’ calling triple zero after outages
Telstra officials are holding a press conference into issues with the company’s network, including failed calls to triple zero.
CFO Michael Ackland said customers can now “feel confident” in calling triple zero, but issued an apology for the disruption.
He said Telstra had completed 639 welfare checks during the outage. 230 said via SMS that they did not require a further response. 402 required follow-up calls, 170 of which were passed on to police.
Seven people said they needed emergency assistance and they were referred to the relevant emergency services organisations.
Ackland said Telstra teams were working as quickly as possible to resolve any lingering issues.
double quotation markI want to again apologise for the disruption that these issues have caused to our customers and to the broader community. We know how important it is to stay connected and we take this responsibility very seriously.
Updated at 23.18 EDT
Expert fears spread of bird flu to mainland wildlife
AAP reports Australia’s bird flu tally may climb to double figures as infections in migratory seabirds mount, triggering warnings of a potential wildlife crisis.
Eight H5 cases have been confirmed to date with another four suspected infections found across two states, placing authorities on high alert.
All the cases involve migratory birds but experts have warned Australia must be prepared for the potential “devastating” impact on local wildlife.
‘‘It’s extremely nerve‑wracking,” Invasive Species Council’s Dr Carol Booth told AAP. “We’re very concerned that the next report will be of mainland wildlife being infected.”
There was a “bit of room for hope” considering native wildlife had not yet been impacted, she said.
A second infection has been confirmed in South Australia, adding to the five cases in Western Australia and another in NSW, according to federal authorities.
Four suspect cases – two each in WA and SA – are under investigation, taking the potential national total to 12.
ShareJordyn Beazley
Segal criticises ABC Gaza coverage as being ‘more negative than positive about Israel’
Jillian Segal has said the ABC is adding to the conflation of Jewish identity with the state of Israel by “putting stories on the record that are more negative than positive about Israel, and not covering the other side”.
She said:
double quotation markSomebody needs to do a review of the holistic reporting of a major issue like the war, because my contention is that we are dealing with this new form of antisemitism … and if we have our trusted media, for all the reasons that I’ve described, perhaps not being as accurate as it should be about the Middle East, and putting stories on the record that are more negative than positive about Israel, and not covering the other side, we are adding to the conflation, and we should do something about that.
Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster asked: “Can that truly be considered to be a problem that the broadcaster created by reporting on the event?”
Segal responded:
double quotation markWell, as I just illustrated, yes, clearly, if Israel has misconducted itself, then accurate reporting, it is what it is. But if the reporting is not accurate, then I think the broadcaster has some responsibility.
Updated at 22.37 EDT
Jordyn Beazley
Segal tells royal commission she has no complaints with ABC complaints system, but external oversight is ‘gold standard’
Returning to the antisemitism royal commission, where Jillian Segal is currently giving evidence and advocating for increased monitoring of the ABC and SBS.
Segal has been asked if she has any criticisms about the way the ABC’s complaints system is currently handled by an internal ombudsman.
She responded that she did not.
She was then asked by counsel assisting Richard Lancaster about instances where the ombudsman had reviewed complaints and identified breaches in standards or led to the ABC to change its policies.
One of these instances included the main issue Segal raised about ABC’s reporting before the commission today. This was a report about a UN official telling the BBC during a radio broadcast that 14,000 babies would die in 48 hours if Israel did not allow aid into Gaza, a figure which was later corrected by the UN and the BBC.
The ABC’s ombudsman found that its reporting of this figure had breached editorial standards because it was capable of being verified.
Lancaster asked:
double quotation markDoesn’t that suggest the ombudsman function is operating effectively at the moment?
Segal responded that while the internal ombudsman was important, “it’s the gold standard” in any industry to also have an external ombudsman.
Earlier in the inquiry, Virginia Bell AC asked Segal:
double quotation markHow is it, in your view, consistent with promoting the trust in the ABC as independent if people know that there is a monitoring committee, whatever you want to call it, that has been selected to represent particular views?
Segal responded:
double quotation markIt could be that the committee doesn’t have particular views … as long as they are people who are aware of the an understanding of modern-day antisemitism and modern-day hatreds.
Updated at 22.29 EDT
Thousands call for Bolte Bridge ‘Pam the Bird’ to stay
A graffitied cartoon bird at the centre of a nine-hour police standoff should be preserved rather than removed, according to an online petition with more than 4,000 signatures.
AAP reports Jack Gibson-Burrell was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly scaling and spray-painting Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge with a giant cartoon bird, sparking a long police standoff and traffic chaos.
Almost nine hours after the standoff began, Gibson-Burrell surrendered peacefully and was taken into custody just before midday.
Pam the Bird graffiti seen on the eastern pylon of the Bolte Bridge. Photograph: Joel Carrett/EPA
A GetUp petition calling for authorities to keep Pam the Bird on the side of the bridge already gathered 4,320 signatures on Thursday morning. Eric Giordmaina, the organiser, said:
double quotation markWhile graffiti is often associated with vandalism, every now and then something appears that transcends a simple spray can on concrete. ‘Pam the Bird’ has quickly become one of those rare pieces.
In just a short time, she’s become a talking point, a landmark, a social media favourite, and a reminder that Melbourne’s personality isn’t built solely by architects and politicians.
Gibson-Burrell was charged with 13 offences over Tuesday’s stunt including burglary, criminal damage, conduct endangering life and conduct endangering serious injury. Read more here:
Updated at 22.11 EDT
Hanson records podcast with far-right activist Tommy Robinson
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson has described Pauline Hanson as one of the “bravest lady’s [sic] on the planet” and “hopefully the next leader” of Australia after recording a podcast with the One Nation leader.
Robinson posted an image of himself in conversation with Hanson to his X account on Thursday, which ended with the line “podcast coming soon…”
The sit-down comes just weeks after Nine Entertainment severed ties with its highest-paid presenter, Karl Stefanovic, after he interviewed and embraced Robinson.
Karl Stefanovic (left) puts his arm around Tommy Robinson, who he interviewed for his podcast. Photograph: The Karl Stefanovic Show/Facebook
Hanson is also expected to meet Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, and attend the Conservation Political Action Conference (CPAC) while overseas.
In the X post, Robinson said:
double quotation markHad a fascinating time chatting to one of the bravest lady’s on the planet. Fearless, relentless, consistent, fighting for the Australian people and hopefully the next leader of her nation @PaulineHansonOz
Updated at 22.17 EDT
ARTC confirms train services are ‘progressively returning to normal’
Train services are progressively returning to normal following the restoration of the Telstra 4G network, according to the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC).
Freight and passenger train services are resuming, with the National Train Communications System now functioning reliably. An ARTC spokesperson said:
double quotation markPriority is being given to the staged return of key passenger services, including metropolitan and regional services in New South Wales, V/Line services in Victoria and interstate passenger services, recognising that individual operators require time to position trains and crews before normal timetables can resume.
Updated at 21.54 EDT
Segal wants ‘independent group of people’ to examine ABC’s coverageJordyn Beazley
Giving evidence to the antisemitism royal commission, the special envoy, Jillian Segal, is advocating for a structure in which an “independent group of people” can examine the ABC’s reporting on Israel and Palestine.
She said:
double quotation markThey can give it a huge tick or they can give it guidance as to the fact that it needs to understand this particular hatred we are focused on better.
Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster asked Segal:
double quotation markDo you accept that the ABC does seek to take care to ensure that a wide variety of relevant perspectives have been represented in its coverage?
Segal responded:
double quotation markWell, that is not something that I have turned my mind to as to assessing that. That’s what I’m seeking to have an oversight committee do.
She later said:
double quotation markIn fact, it might give them an extra verification, an extra boost that what they are doing is absolutely fine. It’s just that it may not be fine.
Segal earlier referred to the power of Ofcom in the UK, which enforces the nation’s broadcasting code.
Updated at 22.48 EDT
Jordyn Beazley
Segal tells royal commission she does not believe ABC and SBS have ‘full understanding’ of antisemitism according to IHRA definition
Jillian Segal is continuing to give evidence to the royal commission about her recommendation for the government to monitor the ABC and SBS’s reporting.
Segal was asked how the public broadcaster applying the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism to its reporting would impact “the extent to which the ABC covered the Gaza hostilities”.
She responded that it wouldn’t affect the “extent of the reporting” but it would “enable the reporters to understand better” the conflation of Jewish identity with the state of Israel.
She said:
double quotation markThe reporting, I think, has to be an understanding just of that type of antisemitism. I just don’t believe that they have a full understanding of that.
The royal commission announced in February that the inquiry would apply the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
The controversial IHRA definition, which is used by many groups, including in Australia, defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews”.
It has been criticised by some, including sections of the Jewish and Palestinian communities, for seeming to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Updated at 21.18 EDT
Gaza coverage on ABC and SBS ‘overemphasised relative to other global conflicts’, Jillian Segal tells royal commissionJordyn Beazley
Jillian Segal, the special envoy to combat antisemitism, is the first to appear before the antisemitism royal commission this morning ahead of appearances later today by senior executives from the ABC and SBS.
The focus so far has been on a recommendation from her plan that released exactly a year ago tomorrow that the government monitor the ABC and SBS’s reporting.
Segal submitted a statement to the royal commission that the “pervasive perception among the Australian Jewish community” of the coverage by the public broadcaster was “lacking balance” and “the conflict in Gaza being overemphasised relative to other global conflicts [and] disproportionately giving voice to anti-Israel perspectives, which exacerbated the prevalence of antisemitism in Australia and the conflation of Jewish identity with the state of Israel”.
She said:
double quotation mark[There is a] very strongly held perception from the Jewish community that the way in which the Gaza conflict, in particular, and the activities that are going on in the Middle East are reported have created an impression of great negativity about Israel.
It’s a very serious perception that a community under attack here in Australia feels that the trusted national broadcaster is not presenting the situation in the Middle East in a way that they think is not biased and accurate.
My contention is that that whole system is not working to assure all of us that the reporting is as per required, and that’s why I make the suggestion of an oversight exercise, a standing committee.
Segal said she wasn’t suggesting that the public broadcasters shouldn’t “cover matters they think are important”, but “there are also lots of important issues around the world”.
She continued:
double quotation markThere are major famines, there are other wars that we don’t hear about at all in Africa.
As we reported earlier, the ABC issued a statement last night standing by its coverage.
Updated at 21.11 EDT
Albanese greets Indian PM Modi
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, welcomed India’s Narendra Modi in Melbourne this morning. You can read more about the visit here:
Modi arrives in Melbourne. Photograph: Luis Ascui/AAP/APAlbanese welcomes the Indian prime minister. Photograph: Hamish Blair/APModi and Albanese. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 20.53 EDT
Penry Buckley
Trains resume on regional NSW lines
Trains have now resumed on two regional NSW lines affected by yesterday’s Telstra outage.
In an update just after 10am, the NSW transport management centre said trains had restarted between Campbelltown, Moss Vale and Goulburn on the Southern Highlands line.
They are also are running again between Newcastle Interchange, Maitland/Telarah, Scone and Dungog on the Hunter line.
“Buses may continue to supplement some trains,” said the updates.
Telstra says ‘good progress’ on triple zero issues, encourages people to ‘immediately retry’ if experiencing problems
Telstra just put out a new update, urging people who face difficulties connecting to triple zero to “immediately retry your call”.
The company said:
double quotation markOvernight, our team have made good progress reducing the occurrence of the subsequent Triple Zero calling error by approx. 90%. and will continuing work to eliminate this issue entirely.
If you experience any issues calling Triple Zero, please immediately retry your call. We have seen good success of calls connecting on retry.
Our welfare checks process remains in place where a call does not connect successfully.
Updated at 20.13 EDT
SA police provide update on Telstra triple zero issues
South Australia police say they have been advised by Telstra that a small number of calls to triple zero are failing to connect.
But to date, Telstra has not escalated any welfare checks to SA police related to the outage. Officials said:
double quotation markTelstra advise that in these cases, when you call Triple Zero you will receive an error message and your phone will try to connect to an alternative mobile network which can take up to 90 seconds. …
We remain in regular contact with Telstra and will respond swiftly should any information or requests be received.
Updated at 20.01 EDT
Penry Buckley
Regional NSW trains still affected by outage but services to resume ‘progressively’
Trains on two regional lines in NSW continue to be affected by yesterday’s outage.
This morning, buses are still replacing trains between Campbelltown and Moss Vale/Goulburn on the Southern Highlands line and between Newcastle Interchange and Maitland/Telarah, Scone and Dungog on the Hunter Line.
The lines are affected by the outage across the network operated by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) which includes interstate services like the The Ghan between Adelaide and Darwin, as well as XPT services which connect Sydney to the ACT, Melbourne and Queensland.
In an update this morning ARTC said rail services are “progressively returning to operation across affected networks following confirmation that safety-critical communications can be reliably established”.
Guardian Australia understands some services in NSW could resume as soon as this morning.
Updated at 19.48 EDT