A woman in Victoria awoke at early morning to find two men in her Melbourne townhouse corridor, suspected of burglary. When she tried to call the emergency number 000 (Triple‑0) for help, the call failed, and the system responded “unable to complete call,” preventing her from contacting police immediately.

In recent months, at least five Optus network users have reported being unable to call 000 in emergencies. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and the Department of Communications have launched investigations and requested telecom providers establish better public outage registration systems to track and respond to similar failures quickly.

Experts noted that emergency call failures can result from multiple factors, including overloaded mobile networks, temporary base station outages, or insufficient coverage in certain areas. The current system’s heavy reliance on a single network leaves users with no alternative means to contact emergency services during outages. Recommendations include introducing SMS or data message reporting features, strengthening network redundancy, and enhancing real-time oversight of telecom providers’ compliance.

According to ABC, the governing Labor Party has threatened Senate members with punitive measures to pressure them into supporting a government proposal to review a “jobs-for-mates” report. This report investigates whether government appointments have favored friends or party affiliates.

Independent Senator David Pocock, in cooperation with opposition parties, successfully passed a Senate resolution allowing the opposition to ask five additional non-government questions during Senate question time until the responsible minister submits the report.

The term “jobs-for-mates” has long been used in political circles to describe appointments of positions or resources to close associates. The controversy centers on the government’s previous promise to release the report, which has not yet been completed or made public, leading the Senate to increase pressure on government transparency and accountability. The government responded by indicating it might remove opposition members from senior positions on House committees as a form of disciplinary action.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles met with his Pacific counterparts in Viña del Mar, Chile, to discuss expanding the Pacific Response Group (PRG) — a multinational body originally focused on humanitarian disaster response — to include regional stability and security missions.

The PRG currently includes Australia, New Zealand, Chile, France, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Tonga. During the meeting, ministers instructed their defence chiefs to explore the feasibility of broadening PRG’s mandate and establishing a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to allow freer troop deployment and coordination among member nations. Officials said the group could evolve into a rapid-response force capable of handling regional crises.

However, the plan may prove controversial among Pacific nations with security ties to China. Analysts suggest that Australia’s move could be perceived as an attempt to exclude China from regional security affairs, heightening great-power competition and potentially straining Australia’s diplomatic relations with its neighbours.