ABC News reports that Home Affairs national security head Hamish Hansford warned months before a Microsoft outage that Australia's reliance on the company risked a "disproportionate impact", calling finding alternatives to major US tech providers unrealistic and urging closer ties with Microsoft instead. The article details the government's dependence: more than $1 billion in contracts the year of the outage, deals including $720 million with Defence, and Tony Burke's activation of a provision requiring Microsoft to prioritise Australia's recovery.