South Australian MP slammed with $10,000 phone bill

A South Australian member of Parliament has been hit with a $10,000 phone bill after his son downloaded football games without permission.

Russell Wortley, who is a member of the Upper House, told The Age his phone bills usually amount to about $200, but was shocked to discover the bill had been so high.

“I can’t believe somebody would be charged $4,000 for playing a game for one hour,” he said. “It sounds mind-boggling.”

“People should know that they, or their children, could be innocently downloading games which they think are free, but at the end of the day they end up costing thousands of dollars,” he said.

Wortley has used the opportunity to call for greater information on how mobile bills are calculated. He has passed on a complaint to communications officer Stephen Conroy, who has said he will speak with the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association about the issue.