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On Monday 27 July 2026, a test alert will be sent to all mobile devices in Australia. (www.ausalert.gov.au)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/australia@aussie.zone
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This includes most phones, and some smart watches and tablets.

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[–] 4 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Honestly.. That pisses me off. I couldn't care less if it only affected you, but, if you are affected, emergency service will be forced to waste resources on you.. Instead of using those resources on genuine cases that need it...

It's literally just a priority alert. The AFP aren't taking control of your phone, and there is no evidence you're going to be flooded with alerts either.

Like at Mt feathertop in winter, I've had f**kwits in my hiking group REFUSE to listen, when I say "don't go to the peak, you don't have a ice axe", and their response is always the same "if I slip, I'll take responsibility". Yeah, Alpine SAR will STILL have to fly you out, and if you get injured, their family will STILL blame me. And those resources are completely avoidable

Or VMTC who is encouraging people to "go out and just enjoy yourself and learn what you can withstand" (and I've seen them say this to new hikers who have barely tested their gear), and refuse to ever cancel trips, even with catastrophic conditions forecast.

If the idea of a priority alert is so scary, then so should phone calls, and messages, because the only difference here is that its a area message which ignores silent mode.

If it's abused, sure, makes sense to turn it off. There's no evidence of that

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  • [–] -1 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    It’s literally just a priority alert. The AFP aren’t taking control of your phone, and there is no evidence you’re going to be flooded with alerts either.

    There's absolutely a "slippery slope" argument to be made here. Would you also allow a "feature" which allows rescuers to see your location? Generally I despise slippery slope arguments but in the context of government surveillance steady incremental encroachment is an established strategy. Every step should be resisted.

    I’ve had f**kwits in my hiking group REFUSE to listen

    These people won't be deterred by an alert on their phone.

    My response to your general argument is simply that people have been avoiding disasters without these alerts since the dawn of time. I don't really see the harm in allowing users to disable them.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    000 can already see your location, and has been for ages (if you click ok). But this is just a cell broadcast, not a two way feature that can magically read where you are..

    They haven't always been avoiding disasters. In practice, we've been lucky that we've dodged a lot of them. But, if you speak to the 414 people injured in the black Saturday bushfires, they will tell you a warning would be nice. In fact, early warning systems were something identified explicitly during the royal commission. And, at Monash Uni during the attempted mass shooting, I would have been grateful to see on my phone that there was a active shooting in the uni.. Not because someone told me they heard there is a "sniper"

    There is no slippery slope, because if it does get abused with spam, it can be turned off later. It's not a mandatory feature, and never will be. There's no reason to believe it would be compulsory either

    This isn't designed to be used because there is a housefire 500m away. It's designed to be used for bigger things, like mass shootings, tsunami, bushfire, etc (and, I'd imagine it is just done as a cell broadcast). If they want to track you, they can simply check that cell tower you're on (they already know who your sim is registered to). But, they don't know your exact location

    My point regarding mountaineering, is that I've been in a few "oh shit" moments, and I know people who have been rescued. This isn't for that. However, my experience is that the people who scream the loudest about how independent they are and who ignore safety are always the same ones who demand everyone bends over when it backfires.. I've seen it at EBC, on various walks in Australia, and in other circumstances.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    I think we might be arguing about different things - youre espousing the merits of an alert system, myself and others are concerned that its mandatory and not able to be disabled.

    The slippery slope i mentioned is not because im concerned about spam. If we embrace the government's ability to legislate that devices must perform specific functions, then that sets the foundation for all sorts of future encroachments.

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  • [–] 0 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Have to agree to disagree here mate.

    I have long been pissed off with surveillance capitalists and creepy governments thinking the deserve to own hardware that has been purchased by users.

    We don't need an always available direct line to people. How ever noble the excuse they make for it may sound.

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