‘No excuse’: Triple-0 needs ‘proper investment’ after Victoria’s blackout ‘failure’

Shadow Victoria Tourism Minister Sam Groth has called for “proper investment” into the triple-0 system after its latest “failure” during the recent blackouts in Victoria. Leaked internal documents showed some people were forced to wait almost six minutes for their triple-0 calls to be answered, according to the Herald Sun. Triple Zero Victoria’s target response time is five seconds for 90 per cent of emergency calls. “It’s not like the government didn’t know this was coming,” Mr Groth told Sky News host Steve Price. “They had advanced warning. They had at least 24 hours, they knew this was going to be the first day where there was a chance of catastrophic fires and storms. “The government should have acted, they should have called in the maximum number of people to be able to take these calls so when people were faced with an emergency, someone was going to be able to pick up the phone.” Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes conceded Victorians were forced to wait three minutes to contact police during the weather crisis.