Sam Newman slams Telstra’s dedicated Indigenous call line saying it makes jumping the queue even easier
A dedicated Telstra call center phone line for Indigenous people has been rejected by former footy great Sam Newman for letting Aboriginal customers skip the queue.
The Darwin-based call center hotline came under a devastating attack from the AFL veteran during last week’s episode of Newman’s podcast, You Cannot Be Serious.
Newman’s co-host shared a story about a woman from Kununurra in Western Australia who had to wait 15 minutes for a Telstra call to top up her calling card.
However, she told him he had the option to press a number if she identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
She dialed the number and then called customer service “directly,” she said.
The co-host said he had since discovered that Telstra had a special Aboriginal line that customers could use to “skip the queue”.
“Why doesn’t everyone do it?” Newman said in response. “Indigenous people – why are they getting through while the rest of us are waiting in line?
“This will lead to you going to a movie, and there will be a line for white people. And here is a line for anyone with a non-white skin color.’
Sam Newman has caused controversy as a media figure in the past and made headlines with his comments on Welcome To Country
“It’s basically segregation and it’s left-wingers suggesting this, which is unbelievable,” replied co-host Richard Wolstencroft.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Telstra for comment.
The telco announced in October 2021 that it would open a call center in Darwin to cater to Indigenous customers.
“Every year we receive 25,000 calls from indigenous communities,” it said in a statement at the time.
“From today, when our First Nations Connect contact center opens, these calls will be handled by a dedicated Darwin-based hub, using staff who are regionally based and of Indigenous descent.
“We also expect that some of these calls will be answered and resolved in the language of our Indigenous customers.”
Telstra denied the call center allowed Indigenous callers to skip the queue for the rest of the community.
Telstra announced in October 2021 that it would open a call center in Darwin to cater to Indigenous customers
“Telstra’s First Nations Connect Hotline is supported by a small dedicated team to serve our most remote customers,” a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
“It also provides culturally appropriate customer service to our First Nations customers.
“The First Nations connect team is based in Darwin and staffed exclusively by First Nations officers.
“The team has access to interpretation services with approximately 50 different First Nations languages and dialects, to assist clients where English is a second or third language.
‘This service has been in existence for over 15 years.’
Newman has courted controversy as a media figure in the past and made headlines with his comments about Indigenous culture.
In September he urged Australians to blow off the ‘welcome to country’ ceremony at the AFL grand final.