The shadow communications spokesperson and a spokesperson for the opposition leader have attacked Communications Minister Anika Wells after she described herself as a “new minister” grappling with her portfolio over four months after she took on the role.
Speaking in Sydney this morning, following a meeting with Singtel and Optus top-brass, Wells described herself as being new to the job after being asked whether she was listening more to telecommunications companies or their regulators as the government fast-tracks legislation for a Triple Zero guardian that was recommended almost a year and a half ago.
A spokesperson for Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the Australian public were not seeking excuses from the minister, and that Wells was someone “who ducks responsibility, points fingers, and treats a life-and-death emergency service failure like a paperwork glitch.“
”Shunted out of aged care after a litany of failures, Anika Wells has proven in her new role that nothing has changed. She is still not up to the job,” the spokesperson said.
Wells has been the communications minister since May, when the government was reshuffled after the election and former minister Michelle Rowland was made Attorney-General. Prior to Well’s appointment she was the minister for sport and aged care in the previous government.
Opposition communications spokesperson Melissa McIntosh said: “If the Minister is still finding her feet, she should have stayed here in Australia to deal with this Triple Zero disaster, rather than a promo tour trip to New York.”
“Australians feel let down and are lacking confidence in the Triple Zero network – their lifeline in a time of need. This should be the number one priority for the Minister,” McIntosh said.
In the fallout of the Optus network outage of September 18, Wells travelled to New York City to attend the United Nations and spruik the government’s under-16 social media ban.
Read the full article here
