The Telstra CEO has called it “ridiculous” and “disgraceful”.
Telstra has hit back at the government after it was suggested that disaster warning texts should be a free “community service”.
Earlier this month, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk claimed that the emergency text service Telstra provides should be free, and that tax payers shouldn’t have to “foot the bill for a lifesaving service”.
The suggestion came amid the revelation that over 1.2 million disaster warning texts were sent to QLD residents during the recent deadly bushfires.
Telstra CEO Andy Penn hit back at the premier’s suggestion, stating that it was “ridiculous” and “disgraceful” that the government wouldn’t pay for the service.
“We provide the Queensland government with very significant technology and telecommunications networks — at their request we provide those services to them, so to suggest that Telstra’s responsibility then to provide that for free is ridiculous,” he told ABC radio.
“We put in place the telecommunications infrastructure under contracts required by the Queensland government, requested by the Queensland government, and obviously that cost money so we get paid for that.
“How we get paid for that is function of those commercial arrangements agreed on by the Queensland government, so then to come back later and say by the way we don’t want to pay for this, that’s disgraceful.”
Palaszcuk believes that the technology should be simple and inexpensive, especially because it was essential for saving lives.
“We shouldn’t now have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the emergency alert systems,” she told reporters.
The issue will be raised with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other state and territory leaders, which could lead to a review of Telstra’s contract with the Australian government.
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Written by Kate Stevens
Images: Getty
