Optus CEO Stephen Rue Under Fire: ‘Step Down’ Demands Grow Amid Triple-0 Outage Fury
- Liberals join calls for Optus boss to resign over ‘unacceptable’ triple-0 failures
- MP Melissa McIntosh says Stephen Rue has ‘let Australians down’ and should take responsibility
- Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young accuses Optus of prioritising profits over ‘safety and transparency’
A storm is brewing around Optus CEO Stephen Rue, with growing demands for his resignation in the wake of a disastrous triple-0 outage that left three people dead. Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh has joined the chorus of critics, saying Mr Rue has ‘let Australians down’ and should take responsibility for the ‘unacceptable’ failures.
“It’s not up to me to force the resignation of a telco executive, but he’s let Australians down,” Ms McIntosh told reporters in Canberra. “Even today under Senate inquiry, we’re still not getting the full answers to our questions. I said very early on that he should step down as the leader who takes responsibility in a crisis.”
Ms McIntosh’s comments come as Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young accused Optus of prioritising profits over ‘safety and transparency’. “In my home state of South Australia, families lost loved ones, you thought it was better to call your board,” Senator Hanson-Young told Mr Rue. “You thought it was better to call your board… to get your ducks in order before even telling government authorities. I just don’t accept that is good enough.”
Mr Rue has pushed back against the calls for his resignation, saying another change of leader at this time is not what Optus needs or what its customers need. However, the Optus chairman, John Arthur, has promised ‘accountability’ and said there will be consequences when the dust settles.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has also come under fire for not being ‘tough enough’ in implementing changes to the triple-0 service. Liberal senator Sarah Henderson accused the watchdog of a “very significant failure” in not enforcing the changes with more urgency.
Optus has apologised for the outage, with Mr Rue saying he is “deeply sorry” for the “unacceptable” failures. The telco has promised to add 300 workers to Australian call centres, focusing on “triple-0 and vulnerable customers”, to ensure more staff are onshore.
The fallout from the outage continues to grow, with the government and regulators under pressure to take action. As the controversy deepens, one thing is clear: the buck stops with Stephen Rue, and the Optus CEO is running out of time to turn things around.