Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle doubles down on claim Aussie died during Telstra outage – as she blasts Police Minister for questioning her ‘integrity’
Liberal Senator Kerrynne Liddle has reaffirmed her claims an elderly South Australian woman died during Wednesday’s Telstra outage, while criticising the state’s Police Minister for questioning her credibility over the matter.
In a statement on Thursday, Senator Liddle revealed her office had advised the woman’s family to contact South Australia Police after receiving information about the case.
‘After contact from Telstra, media and relevant authorities, my office advised the family to reach out to SAPOL directly,’ Liddle said.
‘The grieving family did that today.’
The senator said she was disappointed by the response from South Australia’s Police Minister Michael Brown after raising concerns about the reported death.
‘I am disappointed that the SA Minister for Police chose to front the media and question my integrity in this process,’ she said.
Liddle said she had prioritised the family’s privacy while the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death attracted public attention.
‘Amid much public interest I prioritised the privacy of the family during this time. I stand with them.’
Kerrynne Liddle (pictured) slammed the SA Police Minister for questioning her ‘integrity’
The comments come amid ongoing questions over whether the nationwide Telstra outage disrupted access to emergency services, including Triple Zero.
On Wednesday, Liddle said her office had received a report of a ‘tragic death following an apparent failure to connect to Triple Zero during a life-or-death emergency’.
‘This death of an elderly South Australian represents a devastating failure for their family,’ she said.
‘Our thoughts are with them.
‘No Australian should ever be unable to connect to Triple Zero when their life depends on it.’
South Australia Police previously said it was not aware of any death linked to the outage.
Communications Minister Anika Wells also said Telstra had not informed her of any fatality connected to emergency call disruptions.
The outage affected millions of Australians on Wednesday, disrupting calls, mobile data and electronic payment systems after a technical fault hit Telstra’s network.
Michael Brown (pictured) said that Liddle should turn over all information to the police
Telstra later confirmed about 300 Triple Zero calls were affected during the incident. The company said it was unable to reconnect with 79 callers after attempting call-backs.
Liddle also pointed to reports that some Australians continued experiencing difficulties contacting Triple Zero after the initial outage.
‘That is completely unacceptable,’ she said.
Brown has called on Liddle to provide any information her office received to investigators and cooperate fully with police inquiries.
‘Being a Member of Parliament is a special privilege,’ Brown told the Adelaide Advertiser.
‘If people are going to make claims publicly, they need to be able to back them up. If people make claims that involve our police, they’ll need to co-operate with police when necessary.’
Daily Mail approached SA Police for comment.
