As it happened: Brisbane on November 8

Thank you for joining us. That’s where we’ll leave our live updates.
Among the news reports throughout the day:

Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.Credit: AFR

• Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has apologised for a nationwide outage that left millions of its customers unable make calls or use the internet for at least nine hours. Bayer Rosmarin is now under pressure to resign.
• Brisbane businesses and customers were forced to get creative in response to the Optus outage.

With the telco’s service largely restored in Brisbane, here’s other headlines today:

• Victoria Police must pay $85,000 to a policewoman falsely arrested over the sexual abuse of a child after detectives mistook her ex-husband for a 10-year-old boy.
• A man who named himself “the Hand of Death” and fatally bludgeoned two homeless men in different states told police he had planned to commit multiple murders and that his arrest stopped him “from becoming Australia’s most prolific serial killer”.

US President Joe Biden.Credit: AP

• Journalist Nick Bryant asks, why is America reduced to a wretched choice: dodderer Biden or diddler Trump?

And in entertainment and sport:

Tom Oliver thought up the Wynnum Fringe while bunkered down at his parents’ home in Wynnum during COVID.Credit: Wynnum Fringe

• From a circus cabaret you can watch in the nude to a reunion of 1970s pop legends, this Bayside festival’s fourth outing will be full of firsts.
• Like a game on steroids, Glenn Maxwell defied painful cramping and immense pressure to score a double-century in India. Where does it stand among the great ODI innings?
• Under a record pay deal, the top Matildas and Socceroos players will be able to earn up to $200,000 a year outside the World Cup cycle, plus a share of takings from the game’s showpiece events.

ANZ and Westpac have increased interest rates for their home loans and some savings accounts following the Reserve Bank’s recent rate hike and an earlier move by NAB.

ANZ has increased its interest rate on variable home loans by 0.25 per cent a year, effective from November 17. For owner-occupiers with a home loan of $450,000, their monthly repayments will increase by $70.

The bank also increased the rate available to customers on its digital offshoot Plus Save account by 0.25 per cent a year. The Plus Save account requires customers to meet certain requirements to receive the maximum interest rate on offer.

Westpac also increased interest rates on its variable home loans by 0.25 per cent, effective November 21.

Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin is facing pressure to resign following criticism of her handling of two major crises at the telco.

A network outage that started about 4am is still impacting many Optus customers. The outage comes after Optus was the target of a cyberattack in October 2022.

Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.Credit: Michael Quelch

Bayer Rosmarin was criticised during that incident for her handling of communication with customers who had personal data stolen.

In an interview on Sydney’s 2GB radio station, Bayer Rosmarin was asked why she was “missing in action” for hours after the outage began.

Bayer Rosmarin replied that Optus has “had messages out since the beginning” including “messages on our website”.

It was pointed out that many of those impacted did not have access to the internet because of the outage, to which Bayer Rosmarin replied: “We’ve been focused on restoring the services”.

“I wish that we could have reached all our customers, but obviously in an outage that is extremely difficult for us to do it.”

Bayer Rosmarin refused to be drawn on whether the crisis would force her to resign.

“I am only focused on restoring services for customers, and my whole team is focused on that now,” she said when asked if she would step down.

Grateful though he is to have his future secured, Brisbane Lions AFLW coach Craig Starcevich insists taking advantage of the club’s opportunity to claim another premiership remains his sole focus.

The only person to lead the outfit since the competition’s inception in 2017, Starcevich masterminded the club’s 2021 title triumph, as well as a further three grand finals that ended in defeat.

Craig Starcevich with the Lions in 2022.Credit: Getty Images

The 56-year-old has now inked a new two-year deal to remain at the Lions’ helm, announced on the eve of their finals campaign – beginning with Saturday’s Qualifying Final clash with the Crows in Adelaide.

“The men’s and women’s programs are both very strong, we have this wonderful facility [at Springfield] to come to work to every day, great staff, great people – it’s a good place to be at,” Starcevich said.

“That’s the joy of coming to work for the next two years ... but at the moment, making the most of this opportunity is what’s at the forefront of my mind.

“It’s something I’m grateful for, I’m happy the club and the board have seen fit to keep going – I love coming here to work every day.”

Queensland ministers are said to have held fewer or no meetings with registered lobbyists in the 2022-23 financial year, after a spike in the previous 12-month period for so-far unclear reasons.

The Queensland Integrity Commissioner’s annual report, tabled Wednesday, shows instances of lobbying contact with government or key opposition representatives more than halved from 1518 to 665 despite little change to the number of registered lobbyists trying to meet with decision-makers on behalf of their clients.

This coincided with changes made by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last June which forced lobbyists to request all meetings through an online form and direct all other contact through chiefs of staff – one of a raft of recent overhauls in the space and more to come.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that Ministers took fewer or no meetings with registered lobbyists during the year,” the report notes.

“The specific reason for the spike in contacts during 2021–22 is as yet unclear but may become apparent over the longer term.”

People in fire-affected spots in Queensland who have suffered hardship can apply for grants for food or clothing.

The assistance, which is not income- or asset-tested, includes emergency hardship assistance grants of $180 for eligible individuals and up to $900 for families of five or more for help with food, medication, clothing and temporary accommodation.

People can also access essential services hardship assistance grants of $150 and up to $750 for families of five or more for help with services disrupted by fires, such as power, gas, water and sewage.

For the full list of assistance, and eligible locations, visit www.qld.gov.au/DisasterHelp or call the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.

Optus said on social media that some services including mobiles and landlines were being restored.

In Queensland, a Health Department spokesperson said Queensland state hospitals and services were operating and able to support consumers, as Telstra was the primary telecommunications provider for Queensland hospitals.

“Patient safety is paramount for Queensland Health and there are well-established business continuity plans in place to ensure minimal clinical impacts in cases such as this,” the spokesperson said.

Optus released a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, this afternoon, saying it might take hours for customers services to recover.

“Some services across fixed and mobile are now gradually being restored,” the company said.

“This may take a few hours for all services to recover, and different services may restore at different sites over that time.”

However, it also said some mobile phones on the Optus network had issues connecting to triple zero.

“If Optus customers need to call emergency services, we suggest finding a family member or neighbour with an alternative device.”

Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin says the telco’s millions of customers might be entitled to compensation for the outage, which remains ongoing.

Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin: “We recognise the significant concern it has caused many people.”Credit: afr

“Of course we are looking at what we can do to thank customers for their patience” she told a Melbourne radio station 3AW today.

“You can expect something coming out from us in that regard.”

She said the company would do everything it could to give customers great service.

“We’re very apologetic for this outage.”

A cherry picker has been used to retrieve a suspected car thief after the teenager climbed a building to evade officers, police say.

As the 17-year-old boy was being taken into custody, police said two associates arrived in a suspected stolen car and were arrested.

Police said the 17-year-old was one of three people who fled when they saw officers as they returned to a suspected stolen vehicle at a car park in Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, on Monday afternoon.

The 17-year-old is accused of climbing onto a nearby building’s roof to escape.

However, he was taken into custody after a Queensland Fire and Emergency Services cherry picker was brought in to bring him back down safely.

The other two people remained at large, police said.

Police said another two associates arrived in a suspected stolen car when the teenager was being taken into custody and a 35-year-old man and 14-year-old girl were arrested.

The 17-year-old will appear at Brisbane Children’s Court on November 13.

The 35-year-old Woodridge man has been charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle as well as receiving tainted property and was set to appear in a Beenleigh court on Monday.

The 14-year-old girl has been charged with driving without a licence, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and two counts of stealing.

She is set to appear at Beenleigh Children’s Court on November 13.

Ramsay Health Care facilities, including the Greenslopes Private Hospital and North West Private Hospital in Brisbane, are unable to receive calls on landlines due to the national Optus outage.

In a statement to Facebook, the hospital provider confirmed the disruption and advised people to “please direct inquiries via the contact form on the local hospital’s website”.

The City of Gold Coast is also unable to receive incoming calls at council facilities including libraries, tourist parks, sporting venues and community centres. Its call centre at 1300 Gold Coast (1300 465 326) is still taking calls.

Optus does not know when services will be restored.