Telstra Denies Eavesdropping Rumours

July 20th, 2006: Telstra has denied secretly monitoring phone calls and emails of senior staff after the abrupt sacking of a top executive.

A News Ltd story has revealed rumours of clandestine monitoring of staff communications at Telstra. Telstra has denied the claims, with a spokesman saying, “Telstra complies with relevant telecommunications legislation. Telstra does not listen to mobile conversations without their knowledge”.

The news surfaced after the abrupt departure of Andrew Johnson from the technology division. It is believed that 300 senior staff at Telstra were recently informed their emails were being monitored and stored for legal liability reasons. “Like many companies, Telstra retains information including emails as part of our overall records management and to support our legal compliance”, the spokesman says. Telstra has the ability to monitor communications for national security purposes, however this requires a federal warrant.

An email that was circulated by Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo to staff on Tuesday afternoon, said, “Earlier today I advised the senior leadership team of the departure of a senior executive. I regretted having to communicate this news, but I feel the circumstances raised serious issues that they - and you - deserve to hear directly from me”. Telstra declined to confirm if the email refers to Mr Johnson. The News Ltd report indicated Mr Johnson was accused of leaking information to the Australian Financial Review, which then published negative articles about Telstra business decisions.

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