Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called on Optus to pay the costs for clients who will have to replace their passports due to the telco’s data breach.
In parliament today, Mr Albanese said there should be “clear consequences” for major companies that do not secure the personal details they collect from customers.
“We believe that Optus should pay, not taxpayers,” Mr Albanese told parliament during question time.
“We know that this breach should never have happened, and the government expects Optus to do everything within its means to support affected customers,” he said.
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“Clearly, we need better national laws after a decade of inaction to manage the immense amount of data collected by companies about Australians, and clear consequences for when they do not manage.”
The passport office’s website has loaded a page for frequently asked questions about the issue.
And if you do decide to apply for a new passport, there’s still a six to 16-week wait to have it renewed, although very few people are reporting anything less than a two-month wait.
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Airfares set to rise
It seems Qantas isn’t done squeezing its customers quite yet.
A travel agent shared a social media post with a screenshot of a message from Qantas stating it will be increasing economy fares by 4 per cent across the board, starting this week.
The increase has been blamed on the continuing escalating cost of fuel.
Travel portal travelweekly.com.au said Qantas’ fuel costs for the financial year ending 2023 are expected to be $5 billion, about $1 billion more than 2019.
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Qantas will be saving plenty on fuel after Jetstar had another string of flight cancellations.
Three of its 11 Boeing 787 Dreamliners are out of action, forcing cancellations on flights between Sydney and Denpasar and Sydney and Honolulu this week. There were also delays on the route last week.
Meanwhile, delays and cancellations on Jetstar’s Melbourne to Changi service means the airline has not hit a take-off time since August.
Jetstar has offered affected passengers flight credits, alternative flights or a refund, according to an airline spokesperson.
Given the airline’s reputation for tardy customer service, good luck with that.
Have you been affected by Optus’ data breach? Should Optus pay for replacement passports? Why not share your opinion in the comments section below?
