This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
It was a problem, we were finally told hours after it was detected, deep in the core. City train services had mysteriously stopped. Hospitals and health services couldn't communicate. Switchboards fell silent. People couldn't call Triple-0 from their landlines. Lives were imperilled.
We were in the midst of a meltdown.
If you didn't have cash, coffee was out of the question. As was bread and milk from the corner store. Even automatic cat feeders connected by Wi-Fi failed. Readers couldn't get Wednesday's Echidna, which coincidentally was all about the bugbears of modern life.
A nationwide telecommunications outage can now be added to that list of gripes. So, too, the apparent reluctance of anyone from Optus to step forward in a timely fashion to tell us what the heck was going on. For a while there, it felt like the old days of the Soviet Union, when a deafening silence from anyone in charge followed the catastrophe at Chernobyl.
And when the CEO did emerge after much media hectoring she was about as helpful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.
Optus customers could be updated by visiting the Optus website, she told ABC radio in Sydney. You could hear the anger rumble across the country. Just how could they do that when their phone and internet were down? she was asked.
"There are definitely places where people can connect to Wi-Fi, there are plenty of organisations that offer Wi-Fi." Even the Optus stores had connectivity, she went on. Simple.
![Optus has some reflection ahead of it. Picture Shutterstock Optus has some reflection ahead of it. Picture Shutterstock](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/8WgcxeQ6swJGymJT6BMGEL/488721eb-ac4d-4ed6-9060-53b664066720.jpg/r0_219_4288_2630_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Actually, it wasn't. Not for customers trapped on Melbourne's train platforms. Not for the elderly who rely on their telecommunications devices to stay in touch with family. Not for those working from home. Or those working in offices for that matter.
It reminded me of the time an IT bloke told me to send an email outlining the problem after I rang to say my laptop had died. I wonder if the burn marks on his right ear have healed yet.
No wonder Communications Minister Michelle Rowland was grumpy when she fronted the media. "From the outset, I reiterate that it is vital for Optus to be transparent and timely in the update is that it is giving to customers about the nature of the fault, its impacts, and its possible rectification," she growled.
And then the sting in the tail: "Consumers will be making judgments about the quality of service that they receive in a competitive market."
Already bruised by last year's data breach, which affected as many as 10 million people, Optus has shown itself to be a slow learner. Yes, it spent a bucketload of cash trying to restore its reputation. But Wednesday's glacial response time in communicating the problem - and the progress in fixing it - has undone all that.
It joins a host of corporations which have eroded trust in the Australian population. According to a poll of 1600 voters by SEC Newgate, only one in five of us think corporate Australia is behaving ethically. Fat profits, obscene executive pay and bonuses, political interference and stagnant wages were all listed as concerns.
Optus has some reflection ahead of it. After fixing whatever the problem in the core is, it needs to learn to communicate quickly and honestly. Ironically, the growth in corporate and government "communications" in recent years has been accompanied by a creeping failure to, well, communicate. And we're all drowning in "messaging" at the expense of information.
The rest of us have some reflection ahead too. The Optus episode has shone a light on the dangers of relying too heavily on technology in our day-to-day lives. As one meme circulating yesterday on the networks still operating put it: "The cashless society is like a game of Jenga. One wrong move and everything falls apart."
HAVE YOUR SAY: Were you caught up in the Optus outage? If so, how did it affect you? Should Optus have got on the front foot earlier to tell customers what the problem was? Has your trust in corporate Australia diminished over recent years? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
![David Pope's view. David Pope's view.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/8WgcxeQ6swJGymJT6BMGEL/1d6be84f-9b30-4d77-9b8f-22ccdbecd2d2.jpg/r0_0_1540_1003_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Life expectancy has declined for the first time in a generation because of the effects of COVID-19 pandemic. While Australians still have the third-longest life expectancy in the world, behind Monaco and Japan, the pandemic lopped 0.1 of a year off the average life span during the period 2020 to 2022, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
- Australia has become more a "me" than a "we" nation as rates of inequality and disconnection have surged and are at their greatest in at least a generation, according to Assistant Minister for Charities Andrew Leigh. He's warned the country faces a "disconnection crisis" as rates of volunteering and community participation decline while wealth disparities have surged.
- More than half of Queensland's young doctors at public hospitals fear they will make a mistake due to fatigue from working excessive overtime. The finding was revealed in The Resident Hospital Health Check, which also found a third of the state's junior medics don't feel safe at work.
THEY SAID IT: "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." - George Bernard Shaw
YOU SAID IT: When you can't tell the shampoo from the conditioner or you want to place an order at the cafe but are told to use the QR code, you know modern life is conspiring against you.
John-Paul writes: "Your column had me laughing, remembering the time I mixed up hand sanitiser and eye drops at work one day. I could at least blame conjunctivitis."
"Your timing is impeccable," writes Ian. "Was it merely coincidence that the Optus network collapsed?"
John from Newcastle adds: "And those relentless 'surveys' whose first question is 'Would you recommend us to family and friends?' All I want to do is to tell them what they have done well, or poorly, or make suggestions. And then I might contemplate a family and friends referral. So those surveys get dumped at the outset. Anyway, I'd be amazed if any surveys are ever read; they are just sent so someone can tick the 'customer engagement' box. No one has ever called me back."
"The minuscule labels on mini-bottles of identical shampoo and conditioner are maddening," writes Jenny from Wahroonga. "A simple large S or C would solve the problem."
Paul writes: "Thank you for such a brilliant article. I nearly choked on my coffee as I couldn't stop laughing. And identifying. It reminded us of one incident when asking Siri for directions. She came back with something way off the mark, and in frustration, my wife said 'You stupid idiot.' The response came back from Siri: 'That's not very nice.' AI rules."
"So, so much in John's piece on the world conspiring against him rang true," writes Kel. "The mention of packaging, though, was especially satisfying. It's because of the unfailingly poor design of food packaging - especially the resealable packs that won't open cleanly, let alone reseal - that scissors have become a mainstay in the kitchen. I also have a hammer in the knife drawer. Keep up the good work."
Rick writes: "I agree wholeheartedly with your comments, especially the shampoo/conditioner bottles in the shower. I actually wrote to one of the companies selling laundry detergent because the colour of the detergent was the same colour as the lid in which you measured the quantity. The reply was that they'd take it to their 'development team'. Needless to say the detergent is still the same colour as the measuring lid so I changed brands. I don't think firms realise how difficult things become as we age, especially our sight. Some of the writing on bottles and packaging is so small that I can't read it even with my glasses on. I bought a set of magnifying lenses because it was becoming so frustrating. Thank you for my daily dose of the Echidna. Always a thoughtful read."
"Spot on re the identical shampoo and conditioner containers," writes Allan. "And your story of needing scissors to open the tightly packaged new scissors reminds me of when my wife bought a new kitchen knife for our son to replace the old rusty one. The inevitable happened, the old knife slipped when trying to extricate the new one, resulting in a cut tendon in her hand, tetanus injections etc."
Debbie writes: "I don't mind using the QR codes in restaurants, but I strongly object to being asked to add a tip to my bill for the service!"
"Oh the woes of fading eyesight," laments Lee. "It has plagued me for years. However, there are some days I get in the shower and find things are remarkably clear. Then realise I have jumped in with my glasses on."
Ian writes: "Loved your article on the global conspiracy to frustrate us grumpy old senior citizens! As one who has washed my hands with hand cream, tried to shave with deodorant, sprayed my underarms with Mortein, and put antifungal cream on my toothbrush, I am at one with you! And I am reminded daily of Kathy Lette's plaintiff description of trying to lasso her foot with her underpants, and some other person's complaint about having to find the hole in their belt by Braille. It was ever thus for the aged in our community, and it is a salutary experience to find oneself amongst them!! Your article is a reminder that we are not alone."