Government insists national warning test will go ahead despite concerns
The federal government has brushed off concerns that its national emergency alert test will no longer go ahead as states and territories put the plan in doubt.
Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain on Wednesday insisted the AusAlert test will go ahead at 2pm AEST on July 27 ahead of the new system’s rollout in October.
Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain insisted the AusAlert national test will go ahead on Monday. Alex Ellinghausen
A siren will play on most phones for 10 seconds with a notification in English to pop up on home screens.
“It has been delivered by the Australian government because we know that no one jurisdiction had the ability to deliver a system of this scale and complexity on its own,” McBain told reporters on Wednesday.
“And I want to thank the states and territories for their ongoing involvement in this project.”
States and territories have raised concerns about the national system during a meeting with McBain, with some questioning whether it will be able to contact landlines for remote households.
It had cast doubt over whether the test alert will go ahead as planned on Monday.
McBain said the existing Emergency Alert system, which has the capability for an automated voice to deliver messages to landlines, will continue to run alongside AusAlert for the 12 per cent of Australians with a landline and 2 per cent reliant on a landline.
“It’s one of the reasons those two systems will run alongside each other for this high-risk weather season,” she said.
AusAlert will also run alongside the individual emergency alert systems that states and territories already have in place.
The alerts will ping on every compatible phone in Australia on July 27. Australian federal government
McBain said it is up to each jurisdiction to determine whether they remain on their system, upgrade to the more advanced national system or use both.
“It would be great if we could use both systems to make sure that people are getting advice and notification if we need to advise people in those critical alert situations,” she said.
“But that will be a decision for emergency service agencies who are in control of whatever that disaster may be at the time.”
McBain brushed off questions about whether the multiple systems would cause confusion in the event of a disaster, saying she believes people would be grateful to receive as much information as possible.
“The 2020 bushfire royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements highlighted the fact that we don’t have a system that is capable of resilience currently, that it has its failings, and that we do need to move towards a nationally consistent alert system so that people know what to expect,” she said.
“AusAlert is that system.
“It is a superior technology, and we’ll continue to work with the states and territories to deliver it more effectively.”
Emergency services will decide whether to send alerts through the state/territory or national system. DFES Incident Photographer Morten Boe
Domestic violence survivors told to turn phones off
Domestic violence advocates have raised their own concern that the national alert test on Monday could put victim-survivors at risk if they have a second phone that their partner does not know about.
McBain advised anyone who may be in an unsafe situation to turn off their phone or switch it to aeroplane mode about an hour before the test alert is scheduled.
She said that these second phones should remain off or on aeroplane mode for at least 24 hours after the test.
“The guide to staying safe during the AusAlert national test recommends you leave your device off or in aeroplane mode for at least 24 hours after the test,” she said.
“This advice is for victims, survivors of domestic and family violence.”
The AusAlert test will still sound if a phone is on silent or do not disturb mode.
Wesnet, the women’s service network, chief executive Karen Bentley said many people living in domestic or sexual violence situations have a hidden phone as part of their safety plan.
She urged them to consider what they will do once AusAlert is officially rolled out in October.
“Once the national emergency alert system is officially in place from October, people using hidden phones as part of a safety plan will need to make their own decision about whether or not the risks of having their phones on a permanent basis, or whether it’s safer for them to keep their hidden phones off when they’re not in use,” she said.
“But we do note that critical alerts are the highest level of warning and will only be used, hopefully, in the most extremely rare situations where you may be in danger and you actually need to take action.”
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