Opposition Leader Slams Prime Minister Over UK Labour Conference Speech, Demands Optus Inquiry
Today’s Article is brought to you by Empower your podcasting vision with a suite of creative solutions at your fingertips.
This piece is freely available to read. Become a paid subscriber today and help keep Mencari News financially afloat so that we can continue to pay our writers for their insight and expertise.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of crossing an unacceptable line by delivering a partisan speech at a UK Labour Party conference, calling it inappropriate conduct for an Australian head of government.
Speaking at a press conference in Albury following National Police Remembrance Day services, Ley escalated her criticism of the government’s handling of multiple crises, including three catastrophic Optus network failures that have disrupted emergency services.
“He didn’t just cross a line, he flew to the other side of the world to give a partisan political speech on behalf of a political party in another country,” Ley said. “That is totally unacceptable.”
The opposition leader’s remarks come as frustration mounts over telecommunications failures affecting triple zero emergency services and as the government prepares to release its final budget outcome showing continued deficits.
Truth matters. Quality journalism costs.
Your subscription to Mencari directly funds the investigative reporting our democracy needs. For less than a coffee per week, you enable our journalists to uncover stories that powerful interests would rather keep hidden. There is no corporate influence involved. No compromises. Just honest journalism when we need it most.
Not ready to be paid subscribe, but appreciate the newsletter ? Grab us a beer or snag the exclusive ad spot at the top of next week's newsletter.
Prime Minister’s UK Visit Under Fire
Ley drew a sharp distinction between diplomatic meetings and political advocacy, stating the opposition had no objections to Albanese meeting with the King, the UK Prime Minister or other British leaders during his overseas visit.
“But giving a speech, backing in a political party in another country, that really does cross the line,” she said. “I know Australians would be disappointed in their Prime Minister for doing just this.”
Ley claimed the public service abandoned that portion of the Prime Minister’s trip, which she said underscored its partisan nature. “His excuse is in shreds because the public service deserted that leg of his trip, completely underlining the fact that it was partisan and political in nature,” she said.
The opposition leader characterized the decision as particularly tone-deaf given domestic crises demanding attention at home.
Communications Minister Absent During Optus Crisis
While criticizing the Prime Minister’s overseas activities, Ley reserved harsh words for Communications Minister Annika Wells, whom she accused of being “missing in action” during the Optus emergency.
“It isn’t good enough that the minister responsible was swanning around in New York, was absent and appears missing in action on this critical matter where Australians who are relying on Triple O have lost their lives,” Ley said.
The opposition leader called for an independent inquiry into what she termed the “whole triple zero ecosystem” following three network failures. She noted that Optus had experienced catastrophic outages, NBN failures in Western Australia, and a 12-hour disruption in New South Wales.
“The entire triple zero ecosystem needs an urgent inquiry, not just by the regulator, not just this tiptoeing around by the government,” Ley said. “A minister to step up, announce that today and do her job.”
Ley questioned Wells’ priorities, noting the minister traveled to New York ostensibly to discuss social media bans while communities at home desperately sought answers about emergency service failures. “This is a minister who failed in aged care, who is failing in communications and who seem to fail upwards on a seat on a plane to New York,” she said.
Budget Criticism and Debt Concerns
Ahead of the Treasurer’s budget announcement, Ley outlined what she called a pattern of fiscal mismanagement, highlighting increasing taxes, unchecked spending and mounting debt obligations.
“We can see a government that is increasing taxes, increasing spending, that has red ink on the budget paper as far as the eye can see, with a trillion dollars in labour debt forecast this year,” Ley said.
The opposition leader emphasized the interest burden on taxpayers, claiming debt servicing costs the government $50,000 per minute. “The most rapidly growing item in the budget is repayment on debt,” she said. “It is totally unfair for them to have to pay back Labor’s debt.”
Ley referenced a recent speech to the Committee for Economic Development Australia where she advocated for fiscal guardrails and budget rules to restrain spending. She criticized the current government for operating without such constraints.
“What we now see from this government is no rules, no guardrails and $50,000 per minute in labour debt,” she said, arguing these policies unfairly burden younger Australians already struggling with housing affordability.
Housing Affordability and Intergenerational Fairness
The opposition leader connected fiscal policy to housing access, arguing current government policies prevent young Australians from achieving homeownership.
“Young Australians are struggling to find a pathway into home ownership. They’re not realising the dream of home ownership,” Ley said. “Right now they have no faith in this government caring about their future, caring about the labour debt that they might be forced to repay or caring about their path into home ownership.”
When asked about shadow minister Andrew Hastie’s recent statement that Australians were “starting to feel like strangers in our own home,” Ley pivoted to infrastructure deficits rather than directly endorsing the comment.
“You only have to travel from, or try to, from Western Sydney to the city, from one side of Melbourne to the other, and you see the real constraints on infrastructure, transport and services under this government,” she said, emphasizing the statement reflected infrastructure failures rather than concerns about migrant communities.
“This has nothing to do with any migrant or migrant community, but this is a reprehensible failure of government to put the infrastructure and services in place that Australians deserve,” Ley said.
Regional University Funding Concerns
Addressing local concerns as an alumna of Charles Sturt University, Ley acknowledged challenges facing regional institutions due to international student visa restrictions. The university’s vice chancellor earlier this year identified the need to cut $35 million from operating budgets due to government policies restricting visas and imposing de facto caps on international students.
Ley confirmed the opposition is reviewing migration policies, including international student numbers, but criticized the government for creating uncertainty. “They don’t know where this government is heading,” she said of universities.
“It’s very important that the government get the balance right and understand the critical role that regional universities play,” Ley said, while stopping short of committing to specific student number targets.
Local Hospital Matters
On local healthcare issues, Ley declined to comment extensively on Albury Wodonga Health’s decision regarding surgeon John Stutchbury, citing the matter as between doctors and hospital administration.
“Dr Stutchbury is well known, well respected and well regarded as a doctor by many in our local community including myself,” Ley said, but added she would not engage in speculation about internal hospital matters.
Regarding proposals for councils to lobby governments over a new hospital, Ley reiterated her previous position that the current Borrella Road site upgrade is underway with Victorian and New South Wales government contributions.
“If at any stage the Victorian and New South Wales governments approach me as a federal representative and ask me for a contribution from the federal government for a greenfield site, in other words for a project that is not the project that’s underway now, I will take that very seriously,” she said. “But at the moment no such proposal exists from either the New South Wales or the Victorian government.”
Police Remembrance Day Tribute
Ley opened her remarks with a tribute on National Police Remembrance Day, having attended services in Albury. “This is a day where we honour the contribution and the sacrifice of our police serving officers, retired officers and their families, not just today but every day,” she said.
She noted the tribute held particular significance given recent losses in the region. “I want our police to know that we back them every single day,” Ley said.
Looking Ahead
The opposition leader’s wide-ranging critique reflects mounting pressure on the government across multiple policy areas, from telecommunications infrastructure to budget management to housing affordability. Her call for an independent inquiry into emergency services represents a significant escalation of scrutiny on the Communications Minister.
When asked whether Andrew Hastie’s social media posts might complicate the party’s policy review process, Ley expressed confidence in her colleagues. “I’m very confident that all of my colleagues are expressing strongly held views, and they do that in many ways,” she said.
The remarks signal an opposition strategy focused on portraying the government as distracted by international engagements while domestic crises demand attention, with particular emphasis on issues affecting younger Australians and intergenerational economic fairness.
Sustaining Mencari Requires Your Support
Independent journalism costs money. Help us continue delivering in-depth investigations and unfiltered commentary on the world's real stories. Your financial contribution enables thorough investigative work and thoughtful analysis, all supported by a dedicated community committed to accuracy and transparency.
Subscribe today to unlock our full archive of investigative reporting and fearless analysis. Subscribing to independent media outlets represents more than just information consumption—it embodies a commitment to factual reporting.
As well as knowing you’re keeping Mencari (Australia) alive, you’ll also get:
Get breaking news AS IT HAPPENS - Gain instant access to our real-time coverage and analysis when major stories break, keeping you ahead of the curve
Unlock our COMPLETE content library - Enjoy unlimited access to every newsletter, podcast episode, and exclusive archive—all seamlessly available in your favorite podcast apps.
Join the conversation that matters - Be part of our vibrant community with full commenting privileges on all content, directly supporting The Evening Post (Australia)
Catch up on some of Mencari’s recent stories:
It only takes a minute to help us investigate fearlessly and expose lies and wrongdoing to hold power accountable. Thanks!