Australia's Labor government has proposed a single-service opt-out register for gambling ads, funded by an industry levy, alongside tighter restrictions on wagering inducements as part of amendments to its wagering ad legislation.
Australia's largest telecom company, Telstra, experienced a nationwide outage disrupting phone services, train operations, and online payments. Communications Minister Anika Wells cited the incident as a reason for low public trust in the industry. Telstra attributed the failure to a software defect, not a cyberattack, and an investigation is underway.
Australian ministers are in conflict over a major Telstra outage. Communications Minister Anika Wells criticized opposition figures for suggesting China's involvement without evidence. Meanwhile, shadow minister Sarah Henderson faced backlash for testing the emergency triple-zero system during the outage.
Australian ministers Anika Wells and Kristy McBain have criticized opposition figures Barnaby Joyce, Angus Taylor, and Sarah Henderson for speculating about Chinese involvement in a major Telstra outage without evidence. Henderson also faced criticism for "testing" the triple-zero emergency line during the outage.
