Sam Newman slams Telstra's dedicated Indigenous call line saying it makes jumping the queue even easier
- Indigenous line a way to 'jump the queue'
- 'Why doesn't everyone do it?' Newman asks
- READ MORE: Sam Newman calls on Australians to BOO Welcome to Country
A dedicated Telstra call centre phoneline for Indigenous people has been slammed by former footy great Sam Newman for allowing Aboriginal customers to skip the queue.
The Darwin-based call centre hotline came under scathing 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 faced a 15-minute wait on a call with Telstra to top up her phone card.
However, she told him had the option to press a number if she identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
She pressed the number and then got 'straight through' to customer service, she said.
The co-host said he'd since discovered that Telstra had a dedicated Aboriginal line which customers could use to 'jump the queue'.
'Why doesn't everyone do it?' said Newman in response. 'Indigenous people - why do they get through while the rest of us wait in line?
'This will get to - you'll go to a film, and there'll be a queue for Caucasian people. And over here, there'll be a queue for anyone whose skin color is not white.'
Sam Newman has courted controversy as a media figure in the past, and made headlines for his comments on Welcome To Country
'It's basically segregation and it's left-wing people that are suggesting it, that's what is incredible,' co-host Richard Wolstencroft replied.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Telstra for comment.
The telco announced in October 2021 that it was opening a call centre 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 centre opens, these calls will be serviced by a dedicated Darwin-based hub, using staff who are regionally based and of Indigenous descent.
'We’re also anticipating that some of these calls will be taken and solved in-language for our Indigenous customers.'
Telstra denied the call centre allowed Indigenous callers to skip the queue faced by the rest of the community.
Telstra announced in October 2021 that it was opening a call centre in Darwin to cater to Indigenous customers
'Telstra’s First Nations Connect Hotline is supported by a small dedicated team to service our most remote customers,' a spokesman 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 is staffed solely by First Nations agents.
'The team has access to interpreter services with approximately 50 different First Nations languages and dialects, to help support customers where English is a second or third language.
'This service has been available for over 15 years.'
Newman has courted controversy as a media figure in the past, and made headlines for his comments on Indigenous culture.
In September he urged Australians to boo the 'welcome to country' ceremony at the AFL grand final.
