Telstra CEO Apologizes After Cutting Holiday Short for Nationwide Outage

Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady addressed the public for the first time following a nationwide outage that affected millions of customers, just hours after cutting her overseas holiday short. The service disruption on Wednesday prevented customers from making calls, accessing mobile data, and using electronic payment systems.

Brady, who was on holiday with her family, returned to Australia and immediately went to work. At a press conference on Friday, she apologized for the failure. "We have let our customers and Australians down and for that I am deeply sorry," Brady stated. "I understand how much Australians rely on us to keep in touch, to work, and stay safe."

She also acknowledged the broader community impact, citing disruptions to services such as payments and transport. The outage caused significant issues, including the suspension of all regional train services across Victoria and disruptions to major rail lines in New South Wales due to telecommunications faults.

Concerns were also raised regarding the impact on emergency services, with approximately 300 Triple Zero calls affected. Police are investigating a death in South Australia that may have been linked to the outage. Telstra's chief financial officer, Michael Ackland, confirmed that Brady had booked the first available flight home upon learning of the incident.

"She immediately changed her plans and she will be back here as soon as she possibly can," Ackland told reporters on Thursday. "I have been in regular contact with her, as have many members of the team."