Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025

Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia—Manager of Australian Greens Business in the Senate) (12:47): Amendments to this bill have been circulated because we don't believe, after the government has taken 18 months to move on this very basic requirement and recommendation, that we can trust that the government will move on the other areas in a timely fashion. We've been waiting for months to have the penalties on telcos for their outages increased.

We've just got to remember that two years ago, when Optus had its huge outage, millions of Australians were left with phones that didn't work—phones that wouldn't call their loved ones, let alone triple 0. There were thousands of people who were not able to access or use triple 0. What did the government give Optus as a fine?

It was 12 million bucks! Two years later, this company has done it again, but this time with deadly consequences. Clearly, 12 million bucks isn't enough to send the signal and the message to these corporations that they have one job, and that's to make sure the phones are working.

They have one job, and the most serious of the phones working must be triple 0. It is a part of this company's licence that they are required to deliver this essential, life-saving service, and, if they fail to do that, they must get the full brunt of the consequences available. If the full consequence is $12 million, it is clearly not touching the sides.

In fact, it's not much more than a dollar per fail for every time in the big outage somebody couldn't use the telephone. It's not good enough. They clearly need to be increased, which is why both the Greens and the opposition today are moving amendments to this piece of legislation to increase the penalties.

I think the penalties should be so big that they would scare the bejesus out of any telco executive, to ensure that they do their job and put safety first. Isn't that the point of these fines? We don't want to have to fine people.

We don't want to have to fine these companies. We want them to do their job. But, if the fines are simply seen as part of the business model, part of doing business, and are being factored into their yearly costs, then they're not enough.

I urge the government to stop hiding behind bureaucracy and work with the Senate to increase these fines, to increase the penalties on the telcos who are designed and licensed to deliver this service. I think criminal penalties should be delivered if you're a big multibillion dollar telecommunications company, your executives are paid millions and millions of dollars a year and you failed to deliver the one key service you've been licensed to do—to make sure people can call the ambulance.

The way that telecommunications company handles that requirement, covers up the information, downplays the crisis, doesn't inform ministers and authorities—surely, it should cop a criminal penalty. We have criminal penalties in other parts of regulation where it's really serious. We've got them in the banking industry.

We've got them in other areas of finance. This government moved to implement them in the aged-care sector because of the vulnerability of people. Boy, even the environment minister is saying that he wants criminal penalties for corporations who do the wrong things with their bulldozers.

So why not criminal penalties for a big multibillion dollar company who's failed to ensure that customers can call triple 0? If you can't bring yourselves to implement this type of penalty, then you're not really doing your job of holding the companies accountable. You're all talk.

You're all sizzle and no sausage. There are a variety of different options here for increased penalties, and I hope we can get some of this done today, but I find it very frustrating that the very department and ministry who are meant to hold these corporations to account are going to go weak by not increasing penalties today. Or will you see the writing on the wall to allow the increase of penalties, to allow the Senate to do its job and to make sure these companies are at least sent a signal that they need to clean up their act?

Stop being the friend of these big companies. They're not doing the right thing by you, and they're certainly not doing the right thing by Australians. They don't deserve any more cover.

They don't deserve any more protection from you. What Australians need, though, is for you to stand up for them, stare these big corporations down, stare Optus down and say, 'You failed, and now you're going to cop it.' If you can't do that, you're all talk. To that point, I move, by leave, the amendments on sheet 3456, circulated by the Australian Greens: (1) Schedule 1, item 7, page 5 (before line 5), before Division 3, insert: Division 2A — Offences for outage events 151AA Offences — outage events Carriers (1)—A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is a carrier; and (b) the person does an act or omits to do an act; and (c) as a result of the act or omission: (i) one or more persons lose access to an emergency call service; or (ii) an emergency call person is unable to receive or handle calls to an emergency service number, or to transfer such calls to an emergency service or a service for despatching an emergency service.

Penalty: 60,600 penalty units. Breaches of emergency call service determinations that lead to outage events (2) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is: (i) a carrier; or (ii) a carriage service provider; or (iii) an emergency call person that is not an individual; and (b) a determination is in force under section 147 imposing a requirement on the person in relation to emergency call services; and (c) the person does an act or omits to do an act; and (d) the act or omission contravenes the requirement; and (e) as a result of the act or omission: (i) one or more persons lose access to an emergency call service; or (ii) an emergency call person is unable to receive or handle calls to an emergency service number, or to transfer such calls to an emergency service or a service for despatching an emergency service.

Penalty: 60,600 penalty units. (2)—Schedule 1, page 19 (after line 9), at the end of the Schedule, add: Part 4 — Increased civil penalties Telecommunications Act 1997 18 After paragraph 570(3)(ac) Insert: (ad) in the case of a contravention of subsection 148(1) or (3) of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999—$100 million for each contravention; or (ae) in the case of a contravention of subsection 151D(1) or (2) of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999—$100 million for each contravention; or Senator HANSON-YOUNG: I ask that the question be put separately on amendment (1) and amendment (2).

The CHAIR: So you're not seeking for them to be taken together? Senator HANSON-YOUNG: No, I'd like them to be put separately. Let's see where the government land on criminal penalties, and let's see where they land on increasing civil penalties.

If you can't come at either of them, you're all talk.