Catastrophic Fire Warnings & Optus Rocked By Another Major Outage

Authorities have raised bushfire alerts to their highest level in over two years, forecasting soaring temperatures and damaging winds across New South Wales; Optus is currently probing another major outage affecting emergency services calls for over 14,000 customers in Melbourne; Joan Templeman, the wife of British billionaire Sir Richard Branson and his partner of almost 50 years, has died at the age of 80; A new study has revealed voters considered the Labor party to be better economic managers than the Coalition; And Stranger Things fans, listen up - Creators of the show have shared ten key points for fans to keep in mind ahead of the final season. 

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Host/Producer: Gemma Donahoe 

Audio Production: Lu Hill

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to a Mummameer podcast. Hi, I'm Jemma Donna
who from MMA MEAs twice daily news podcast The Quickie
with Your Headlines for Wednesday, November twenty six. Authorities have
raised bushfire alerts to their highest level in over two years,

(00:27):
forecasting soaring temperatures and damaging winds across New South Wales.
A catastrophic fire danger warning has been issued for the
lower Central West Plains, including Dubbo Parks and Forbes. More
than twenty public schools in central New South Wales close
today as a precaution. Extreme danger warnings and total firebands
are also in effect for millions of residents, including those

(00:50):
in Metropolitan Sydney. Officials are urging residents in high risk
areas to consider leaving early as homes could be lost
if a fire takes hold. Optus is currently probing another
major outage, affecting emergency services calls for over forty one
hundred customers in Melbourne. The issue, caused by an aerial
fiber break, is impacting users in the Frankston and Morning

(01:13):
Peninsula areas. The embattled telco confirmed that the outage blocked
approximately six hundred Triple zero calls from successfully connecting to
emergency services. Optus advised customers that they can only reach
emergency services if they are within range of another mobile
network or are able to use Wi Fi calling. This

(01:33):
failure marks the fourth time in months that a major
Optis outage has prevented people from accessing critical emergency services.
This incident follows a September eighteen outage which was linked
to three deaths and blamed on human error by Optus
CEO Stephen rue Joan Templeman, the wife of British billionaire

(01:54):
Sir Richard Branson and his partner of almost fifty years,
has died at the age of eighty. Sir Richard announced
the news on Instagram, writing that he was heartbroken, calling
her my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world.
The down to earth Scottish woman was frequently credited by
the Virgin founder as a stabilizing force on his extravagant personality.

(02:18):
Miss Templeman preferred to stay out of the public spotlight,
focusing instead on philanthropy, particularly supporting premature birth charities. After
losing her infant daughter. Her family did not specify a
cause of death for Miss Templeman, who was not publicly
known to be ill. A new study has revealed voters
considered the Labour Party to be better economic managers than

(02:40):
the Coalition. The post election survey found the Opposition now
trails Labour by four percentage points on the economic management,
losing a long held key strength. The study also recorded
Peter Dutton as the least popular major party leader in
the survey's thirty eight year history, with voters citing a
lack of inspiration and compassion. The research also showed a

(03:04):
record high to ties twenty five percent of Australians now
identify as nonpartisan, exceeding the number of voters who identify
as liberal. The AEES found voters preferred Labour's policies in
nine out of ten areas surveyed, with the Coalition only
leading narrowly on national security. These results highlight significant short

(03:28):
and long term challenges for the Coalition in winning back
voter confidence and stranger Things fans listen up. Creators of
the show have shared ten key points for fans to
keep in mind ahead of the final season. Brothers Ross
and Matt Duffer confirmed the final season aims to come
full circle, tying back and answering mysteries that started back

(03:50):
in season one and two. They specifically recommended rewatching four
key episodes from season two and four, and said fans
should not expect any new monsters. Addressing persistent rumors, the
creators stated that fan favor at Eddie Munson will not
be returning from the dead. Additionally, they revealed their excitement

(04:11):
for the final episodes cinema premiere designed for a communal
fan viewing experience. They also confirmed the upcoming animated spinoff
is a completely separate story set between seasons two and three.
That's your evening news headlines tomorrow on The Quickie. If
you were one of those who was going through the
process of consciously, financially, emotionally and physically uncoupling from your

(04:36):
formally significant other, there are a ton of things you
need to consider, but have you checked what you posted
on social media? Listen to The Quickie wherever you get
your podcasts. Mumma Mea acknowledges the traditional owners of land
and waters that this podcast is recorded on