Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025, a bill that goes to the heart of public trust and safety. Every Australian should have the confidence that when they dial triple 0, when they reach out for help in an emergency, that call will be answered and that someone will be there at the other end. That's because, in that moment, every second counts and the difference between a call that connects and one that fails can be the difference between life and death.

In September this year, an Optus network failure left hundreds of Australians unable to reach emergency services. Around 600 triple 0 calls failed and at least four lives were lost. For those families, it was a devastating breach of the most basic public expectation—that, when you call for help, the system will be there. That is why the Albanese government has acted swiftly to ensure such failure never happens again.

But, disappointingly, that sense of urgency is not shared by everyone in this chamber. At the very moment Australians expect unity and purpose, the coalition and Greens are playing politics that risk delaying this reform. The coalition is demanding yet another inquiry, the very definition of delay when the facts are already known and the Bean review recommendations have been accepted. The Greens, while preaching accountability, are proposing amendments that would tie this bill up for months of process before a single safeguard could take effect. Every day this bill is delayed is another day Australians remain exposed to vulnerabilities that failed them in September. So this is not the time for theatre and grandstanding. Accountability begins with action. There is nothing progressive about delaying protections that could save lives. This bill is not a political trophy; it is a community safeguard.

The bill strengthens the resilience of Australia's most critical telecommunications service. It does three things. Firstly, it establishes a triple 0 custodian within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Secondly, it empowers ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, to issue binding directions to carriers and compel outage information. Thirdly, it introduces civil penalties to ensure those powers have real consequences. The custodian will coordinate the system end to end, while ACMA can act swiftly during outages and report to the minister so problems are caught early.

Other nations have already acted in this space. In the United States, carriers must report 911 outages within 30 minutes. In the United Kingdom, Ofcom fined BT 17 million pounds for failing to maintain emergency call reliability. Across Europe, calls must include accurate location data under the European Electronic Communications Code.

What sets Australia apart is the creation of a dedicated custodian. This is a bridge between our national networks and our state emergency services. For regional Australians, like those in Tasmania especially, this bill really matters. When a network fails in Hobart or Launceston, it's really serious. But, when it fails in Queenstown, Bruny Island or the Tasman Peninsula, where there is often just one tower, it can be life-threatening. Not every network outage becomes a triple 0 outage, but in places with only one carrier that distinction disappears. If your only network goes down, you can't call anyone, including triple 0. We've seen it during bushfires and storms, where whole communities are cut off. This bill strengthens oversight so that, when networks fail, the emergency system does not. In a state like Tasmania, redundancy isn't a luxury; it's a lifeline.

Consultation with carriers, regulators, emergency agencies and consumer groups confirms strong support for enshrining the custodian and giving ACMA the teeth that it needs. Industry wants certainty, emergency services want accountability, and the public wants reassurance. This bill delivers all three. It's balanced and targeted, not punitive for its own sake and has clear reporting to ensure transparency. The bill seeks to restore confidence that, when the worst happens, help is only three numbers away and confidence that government has learned from the past and acted with urgency.

For the families who lost loved ones in September, this bill says, 'We heard you and we acted.' For first responders, it says, 'We've got your back,' and, for every Australian, from Hobart to Burnie, Devonport to Dover, it says, 'When you call triple 0, your government has made sure that call will connect.' That is what public trust looks like and that is what accountability looks like. That is what this parliament should always strive to deliver. I therefore urge everyone—the Greens and the coalition—to stop playing political games and join with the government in commending this bill to the Senate.