Transcript - Sky News NewsDay - 7 October 2025

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

7 October 2025

Transcript

Sky News NewsDay with Kieran Gilbert

Topics: Triple Zero outage; Triple Zero Custodian; Optus; social media age minimum.  

E&EO …

Kieran Gilbert

Joining me is the Shadow Communications Minister, Melissa McIntosh. Thanks for your time.

The Minister says they've adopted most of the recommendations that were issued by the report into Triple Zero at the end of last year, that most of those recommendations have been adopted. Anything further probably wouldn't have stopped that outage anyway. That this is on Optus, this outage.

Melissa McIntosh

This is on providing confidence to Australians that our most essential telecommunications service actually works in people's greatest time of need. The recommendations happened after the first Optus outage in 2023. The government's been sitting on these recommendations for a year and a half and now drags us into Parliament to put through rushed legislation.

Kieran Gilbert

As they've said, they've adopted most of it.

Melissa McIntosh

But they haven't given any indication.

Kieran Gilbert

The 000 custodian's already been in place since March.

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, and on the 22nd of September, the Minister spoke to a journalist and said she wasn't sure what the Custodian was doing and whether they were actually in place. So, the Minister needs to really take this seriously. Remember, she jetted off to New York during the crisis. She's pulled the telco CEOs in three weeks later and now has legislation going through Parliament sitting on recommendations for a year and a half.

This is life and death stuff. We just want the Minister, the Government, to take their role in this seriously, including ensuring that it is a thorough, independent investigation. I have huge concerns around ACMA doing the investigation when they've been part of the failed process.

Kieran Gilbert

But that they're an independent authority. Why shouldn't they? They're at arm's length from the Minister.

Melissa McIntosh

Well, they were alerted by Optus by law, on the Thursday. The Minister says she didn't know about the outage until the Friday.

Kieran Gilbert

So, you're worried that they're going to cover their failings.

Melissa McIntosh

How do you investigate yourself? Why is the regulator being the investigator when they are part of the failed process?

Kieran Gilbert

Well, no doubt you're going to ask that of the Minister this afternoon. Question Time gets underway in about 23 minutes, and I think obviously this is going to feature prominently in terms of the Minister's responsibility, though. Are you trying to say that she's responsible for more than what she is in the sense that this is an Optus stuff up, the company itself.

Melissa McIntosh

Yeah, well, there's no denying that it is an Optus failure, but the telco industry is one of the highest regulated industries and Government has a big role to play in this, ensuring that everything is operating efficiently. The Minister went overseas during a crisis when she has responsibility. The government sat on recommendations after the first outage for a year and a half and now we are putting through legislation at the very end of a sitting year.

Prioritise people's lives. There is nothing more important than protecting Australians.

Kieran Gilbert

You're saying that she went overseas? It wasn't a holiday. She was there making the case for Australia's world leading social media reform.

Melissa McIntosh

The Prime Minister was there too, but there was a crisis at home. You don't leave your post during a crisis. She's the Communications Minister with responsibility of telecommunications and there were four deaths. You don't need to leave. I don't deny that children's safety is important, but this was a priority and she's waited three weeks to drag the telco CEOs to parliament for some sort of PR opportunity and now we're having to do legislation that should have happened a year ago.

Kieran Gilbert

And you say there were four deaths and tragic. Tragic, of course, as any death is, we don't know the causation of this to those outcomes. I mean, sadly, those people might well have died regardless of the outage.

Melissa McIntosh

That's why we need a thorough investigation. Of course we'll hear more. But Optus said itself that people died while they're trying to call Triple Zero. We want a thorough, independent investigation. And I'm also calling for a register so that every time there is a Triple Zero outage, it has to be recorded for transparency, and every single Australian can see what's going on.

Kieran Gilbert

In terms of the latest outages that we're hearing reports of, again, have you been able to substantiate because there have been further claims of people experiencing outages. Have they been substantiated? How many are we talking about now in recent weeks?

Melissa McIntosh

Well, that's the question. That's the other reason why I want a public register, because I think that we don't know exactly how many outages there are and why these outages have occurred. We know that there's outages that have occurred in Dapto in New South Wales. We know that there was some failures around the NBN that resulted in outages.

This is happening all the time. Australians need confidence in their Triple Zero network and they need confidence that the government is doing everything it can with the powers it has to make sure that Australians are prioritised number one.

Kieran Gilbert

But in terms of this legislation, you'll back it? The toughening of the bolstering powers for the Triple Zero Custodian.

Melissa McIntosh

Well, for such important legislation, my office received the draft last night for us to approve it by midday today. You know, they could have been working on this long before. They've given us no time to. What I can see going through it, it seems like a lot of bureaucracy. It gives powers back to the Department. I don't know how much it's going to change the outcomes. I hope it does what the government intends it.

Kieran Gilbert

So, there's no guarantee you'll pass it this week?

Melissa McIntosh

Well, we're looking at it now. It has to go through our party room processes and we'll see what we need to do potentially to strengthen the legislation.

Kieran Gilbert

But given the urgency and you've rightly pointed out that this is an urgent matter. Surely, you'll do everything you can to.

Melissa McIntosh

Of course we'll do everything we can in the interest of Australians, but if there's weakness in the legislation, we're not going to wave through weakness. We want the legislation, if it has to happen, to not be a piece of bureaucratic paper that actually works in the intent of protecting Australians, so triple zero outages don't happen and people don't die when they're trying to call it.

Kieran Gilbert

So, you'd rather nothing happen than put through the legislation?

Melissa McIntosh

I’m not saying that. I'm saying we received the legislation last night. It went into the House today by the Minister at midday. I think it's appropriate for us to thoroughly investigate the legislation in the interests of Australia. That's our job as Opposition.

Kieran Gilbert

They want it passed this week, though.

Melissa McIntosh

I imagine they would. I imagine they would.

Kieran Gilbert

Would your processes enable that to sort of, when it gets to the upper house, to be able to usher it through.

Melissa McIntosh

It's very unusual to get less than 24 hours on extremely important legislation relating to people's lives. If you're taking it seriously, you'd think the government would have done this when they've had a year and a half sitting the recommendations. I want to ensure that it's not just a bit of political PR, that it actually does do what it's intended to do in protecting Australians.

Kieran Gilbert

Shadow Communications Minister Melissa McIntosh. Thank you.