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South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said his government learned about deaths linked to the Optus triple zero failure through a Friday night press conference, despite state authorities being the ones who alerted the telecommunications company to the service breakdown.
The premier told ABC News on Sunday that no one in the South Australian government — including ambulance service, police or political offices — knew about the deaths until they were announced publicly Friday evening.
"That's how we found out about it," Malinauskas said. "All of us. We all found out from the press conference."
The revelation highlights communication failures surrounding the emergency services outage that has been linked to four deaths and affected multiple states. Optus admitted over the weekend it missed several early warning signs of the triple zero system failure.
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State Alerted Optus Despite Company's Prior Knowledge
Malinauskas said the South Australian government actually alerted Optus when triple zero service failures began occurring, not the other way around, despite the company knowing about problems hours earlier.
"It was actually the South Australian government, as best as we can tell, that alerted Optus not the other way around," the premier said.
He said this was problematic given Optus reports showing the company was aware of issues early Thursday morning.
"So why was the South Australian government letting Optus know when Optus themselves knew three hours earlier?" Malinauskas asked.
The timeline suggests a breakdown in communication protocols between the telecommunications provider and emergency services authorities across multiple states.
Premier Questions Confidence in Optus
When asked if he was confident similar failures would not happen again, Malinauskas expressed skepticism about Optus's reliability.
"I think that you'd be a pretty brave person to put all your chips on Optus just at the moment," he said.
The premier noted this was not the first time Optus had experienced such failures, raising concerns about the company's response protocols.
"This isn't the first time we've seen this failure. I certainly hope it's the last," Malinauskas said. "Things do go wrong in these systems. And, you know, what matters is how you respond to those areas or those failures."
He said redundancy protocols exist but need thorough examination to determine if they were properly followed.
Communication Failures Highlighted
The premier characterized the sequence of events as "extraordinary" and criticized Optus's handling of the situation.
"There's little doubt in our minds within the South Australian government. This has been quite an extraordinary sequence of events," he said. "At the very least, there's been a fundamental and in many respects in an inexcusable failure of communications from Optus."
Malinauskas said while technical failures can occur and governments are not immune to them, the response is what matters most.
"But it's the way you handle them that often really matter," he said.
The premier said something going wrong was one thing, but not responding adequately after having previous experience was "another thing altogether."
Multiple States Affected
The outage impacted South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and parts of New South Wales, according to information revealed over the weekend.
"It's fair to say that we're all rather concerned about it," Malinauskas said, referring to affected state governments.
He said state governments are working closely with the federal government to ensure a thorough and independent investigation that examines both technical and communication issues within Optus.
Executive Leadership Questions
When asked whether Optus CEO and senior executives should consider their positions, Malinowskis said that was a matter for the company's board and owners.
"I don't intend to weigh into that," he said. "I know that the CEO of Optus has only been in there a short time, so others will formulate an opinion around whether or not he's had anything to do with this."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking from New York, said he would be surprised if the chief executive wasn't considering his position but wanted to wait for investigation results before taking action.
State Emergency Response Praised
Despite criticism of Optus, Malinauskas praised state emergency services for their weekend response to restore confidence in the triple zero system.
"My thanks are to the South Australian Ambulance Service and the South Australian Police. They worked really hard across the weekend to get on top of this and make sure the sovereignty of the system was sound and that South Australians can call triple zero this week with confidence," he said.
COP Climate Conference Preparations Continue
The premier also addressed Australia's bid to host the COP climate conference, potentially in Adelaide, amid ongoing negotiations with Turkey.
"The very fact that Adelaide is so close to hosting this event is a privilege within of itself," Malinauskas said. "We've got to prepare for this in any event."
He said South Australia was prepared for all scenarios and had experience hosting major events. The state generates over 80 percent of electricity needs through renewables, making it a global leader in decarbonization.
"We are a global leader in that regard. It's a big deal what we've been able to achieve, and it hasn't been easy," he said. "That gives us a platform to tell a really powerful story, and COP would certainly present an opportunity to do that."
Algal Bloom Conditions Update
Malinauskas provided updates on the state's ongoing algal bloom, saying conditions varied by location. Victor Harbour in the south has been clear for weeks or months, but algae persists in Gulf St. Vincent, eastern York Peninsula and metropolitan Adelaide beaches.
"We still see evidence of marine life washing up on our shores. And it's very much a demonstration of that climate change is real," he said.
The government plans to release a summer management plan in October to address the ongoing environmental challenge.
Investigation Demands
The communications breakdown has prompted calls for comprehensive investigation of both technical failures and corporate response protocols. The incident marks another telecommunications emergency for Optus, which has faced previous outages affecting critical services.
Federal Communications Minister Annika Wells remained in Australia to handle the investigation rather than traveling with the prime minister to New York.
The premier emphasized the need for truly independent investigation to examine technical questions and communication issues within the telecommunications company.
The triple zero failure represents one of the most serious telecommunications emergencies in recent Australian history, with implications for emergency response protocols and corporate accountability in critical infrastructure management.
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