Transcript - Sky News NewsDay - 4 November 2025

Melissa McIntosh MP 
Shadow Minister for Communications 
Shadow Minister for Women 
Federal Member for Lindsay 

4 November 2025 

Transcript 

Sky News NewsDay with Kieran Gilbert

Topics: Optus inquiry; Triple Zero; Triple Zero Custodian; ACMA; NBN; Telstra; energy prices; batteries; polling; Liberal leadership; big data; Priya’s Law.

E&EO … 

Kieran Gilbert

Joining me live in the studio is the Shadow communications Minister, Melissa McIntosh. A big week on the Optus front. The Chief Executive before that Senate hearing, does that satisfy your demands for accountability?

Melissa McIntosh

No, not at all. It came to light in that Senate inquiry yesterday that Optus knew about the outages where, sadly, people died for hours and hours before they even told their CEO, and then he sat on that for a number of hours before he alerted ACMA, the regulator and officials. So how can that happen? Why is this happening? So, I'm going to keep pushing hard for a public, you know, outage register. I don't think it's enough that the Minister for Communications is pushing that back onto the telcos to publicise when they have an outage or a Triple Zero outage. And also to have this, an inquiry, an actual thorough independent investigation.

Gilbert

And who should run, before we get to the independent investigation, who should run that register then?

McIntosh

Well …

Gilbert

If it's a public register.

McIntosh

Yeah, we've just pushed through legislation to have this Custodian and we've found out that the Custodian has actually been in the Department since March, the Minister has said. And what's that Custodian been doing? So how about the Custodian oversees this public register? It's almost like telling the telcos to mark their own homework by having it on their own websites. People have a right to know what's going on, have more transparency.

Gilbert

On the independent investigation, is it needed? Because you've got the Senate inquiry, obviously it's already generating more information and as you said the details on what Optus knew and when. Plus, you've got the ACMA inquiry. Is it really needed to have another one?

McIntosh

I don't think the ACMA inquiry is enough. ACMA is part of the failed process. That is very clear. They're essentially investigating themselves. I've called for an independent investigation all along to get to the bottom of not only this Optus outage, but the whole telecommunications ecosystem. I know that there's been problems with Telstra at times with Triple Zero outages. Even the NBN had faults that resulted in Triple Zero outages. More is going on here and this is about Australian lives.

Gilbert

Is there a precedent for the Minister from the lower house appearing before the Senate inquiry?

McIntosh

I believe Scott Morrison has appeared before a Senate inquiry before and I think it's right for the Minister to come forward. We're not getting answers. We're not getting answers about when she knew about the outage and what she did about it and why did she sit on recommendations the Bean Review for the outage in 2023 for a year and a half. There are so many questions and we want this to be a priority for the government.

Gilbert

On the net zero question for the Liberal Party, Andrew Bragg was on the program. He says he doesn't want the party to leave Paris, that you would be a pariah, be seen as a pariah, if you were to do that Australia would be a pariah nation if we were to leave Paris. What's your view on that? Do you agree with him?

McIntosh

I think - and I think The Nationals have come out and said that's not part of what they're pushing. I think we need to focus and not get ahead of ourselves here. We need to focus on landing a position about our country's energy future and I'm pushing for a pragmatic solution. Thinking about everyday Australians in places like Western Sydney who are really, really struggling under high energy prices, trying to do their best, putting solar panels on their roofs, can't afford the batteries and they, in my community - they, the majority, 65% don't want us to go to net zero at 2050.

Gilbert

That's interesting. The point that's made often about say China leading the world on renewables. But the Chinese president, he says that he's been adamant they're not going to shift away from fossil fuels entirely until their industry is able to be sustainable on new energy.

McIntosh

But we're putting all of our eggs into the renewables basket and people are suffering around the country. So, I think …

Gilbert

But it's probably - is it too late to think of coal? It's got to be all gas now, doesn't it?

McIntosh

Well, I don't think it is too late, but it will get to a stage where the transmission lines and the costs associated with that will be locked in and we won't be able to bring down power prices. We do need to have a short term, a medium term and a long term solution.

In my community they're open to, for us to lifting the moratorium on nuclear. We have a desire in Western Sydney to have big data. Like big data is coming to Western Sydney. But how are we powering this? It's currently off the grid and that's putting more pressure on our energy grid and on power prices.

Gilbert

Do you feel that this is something you can navigate within the Liberal Party? Because I know yesterday you spoke to Pete Stefanovic and said on days like that you wonder why you do the job. The poll: 24% primary.

McIntosh

Yeah, it's true.

Gilbert

It's a tough time.

McIntosh

It is a tough time and there's no sugarcoating tough times. I think we need to own that. But it is also a reminder that we need to have focus, and it's on days like that you do ask and then you think, well, I'm doing this for my community and they voted me in and I'm their voice and I need to be their strongest voice in the public sphere, including in Parliament. And that's what I'm committed to doing. And I think we are strongest when we're focused on policy and holding the government to account. Like with the Triple Zero outage. We actually did prosecute a strong argument. We got the Senate inquiry up. So let's focus on issues like that.

Gilbert

Does Sussan Ley survive as Leader?

McIntosh

I think she’s got my backing, that's for sure. We're not here - and we had our party room today. There were no rumblings there, much to the disappointment of people like yourselves are expecting a bit more. But yes, it's a tough job being the Opposition Leader, particularly after such a devastating outcome at the election.

Gilbert

Have you - it is a tough job. But there is a view, I think, within your party that if you can get some cohesion …

McIntosh

Yep.

Gilbert

Then start targeting the government on where they've got some vulnerabilities. Like, you know, the inflation number last week, driven in large part by high energy prices.

McIntosh

Yeah, inflation missing the housing targets with which is a big one, which I know in my community housing is so important. Now looking like missing their 2030 targets when it comes to energy. And they're broken promises around energy costs too. So, we've got a lot to prosecute. We just need to put some focus into it.

Gilbert

You know, some of your conservative colleagues made some remarks about proposed law for women who have miscarriages to get paid parental leave. What did you make of some of those comments in relation to potentially causing women to get pregnant and have a late term abortion? Did you see that?

McIntosh

Yeah, and that bill went through unopposed and it was a conscience issue for those particular members of Parliament and they have a right to have a conscience voice. But at the end of the day, it did go through unopposed and I think the intent of - and it was supported by the Coalition as well to, to give parental leave for people that go through that horrible experience of having a stillbirth child. And I think we made the right decision on that one, letting that through.

Gilbert

Melissa McIntosh, thanks for your time. Appreciate it. We'll talk to you soon.

McIntosh

Thank you.