Until Christmas Eve, children can make free calls to Santa from any of Telstra’s 14,000+ payphones by dialling # HO HO HO (# 46 46 46).
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NewsTranscript
00:00From now until Christmas Eve, kids right across Australia can call me directly from any Telstra
00:14payphone and it's completely free.
00:18This year I've worked with Telstra and we've created the first kid-sized Telstra payphone.
00:24Now Aussie kids can use this custom-built payphone to call me directly with their Christmas
00:30wish list.
00:31Last year I received over half a million phone calls from Telstra payphones.
00:37I'm hoping to get a lot more callers this year.
00:40Hello Santa, I would like some Lego Ninjas and Skipping Rope, Fishing Rod and Pellegrini
00:55and Leonardo and Messi's soccer t-shirt please and that's it, thank you Santa.
01:04For younger generations raised on smartphones, like my son for example, a payphone with a
01:09handset can feel really unfamiliar to them and teaching kids how to use one can be an
01:13important lifeline in case of an emergency.
01:15Through Telstra's free calls to Santa hotline, kids not only get a festive experience but
01:19also a fun, hands-on way to learn an essential skill and this year it's even easier to try
01:24it out with our kid-sized payphones.
01:26Since we made payphones free back in 2021, we've seen usage triple and calls to helplines
01:31double, which includes emergency and crisis services.
01:34It provides vital connectivity to those who need it most.
01:37The number of free calls made from Telstra payphones nationally has increased by nearly
01:4110% in the past year, reaching a huge 25.8 million.
01:48Merry Christmas!