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<\/p>\nAustralia’s emergency management minister has confirmed an AusAlert national mobile test will go ahead on Monday, July 27, at 2pm AEST.<\/p>\n
State and territory representatives had voiced significant concerns about the rollout of the national emergency warning system in a meeting with the minister Kristy McBain.<\/p>\n
Ms McBain said the test would assess the system-wide performance of the technology.<\/p>\n
“The national test also provides an opportunity for Australians to familiarise themselves with AusAlert before alerts are sent during local or national disasters,” she said.<\/p>\n
Western Australia and Queensland were understood to have raised concerns about whether the system would be able to contact landlines, which are still favoured in more remote areas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kristy McBain, pictured with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese head of last year’s election, \u00a0says the AusAlert test will go ahead. (ABC News: ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)<\/p>\n
And there are only plans to send messages in English, which may limit their effectiveness in certain parts of the country.<\/p>\n
The alerts will appear as “system alerts” rather than text messages, which the federal government says will be faster, more reliable and precise because they use a dedicated channel directly from mobile towers in areas affected.<\/p>\n
There are also questions about whether all older devices will be able to receive the messages.<\/p>\n
All states and territories approached by the ABC, except the Australian Capital Territory, refused to say whether they would adopt the system at that time, or before the coming high-risk season.<\/p>\n
The ACT confirmed it would transition to AusAlert on October 1, but that it would run alongside its existing emergency alert system.<\/p>\n
State concerns<\/p>\n
Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services said it was “assessing how AusAlert will operate alongside existing warning systems, processes and channels”.<\/p>\n
South Australian Emergency Services Minister Rhiannon Pearce said her state “continues to assess how AusAlert will operate alongside existing warning systems, processes and channels”.<\/p>\n
Tasmania’s Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Felix Ellis said AusAlert would be “an important part of Australia’s emergency warning system” but there were “some concerns around its functionality”.<\/p>\n
A Victorian government spokesperson said AusAlerts would be a “powerful tool” but Victorians should not rely on any single source in an emergency.<\/p>\n
A New South Wales government spokesperson said the state was “working closely with the Commonwealth” ahead of the rollout but also pointed to its existing services.<\/p>\n
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