Be alarmed not just alert
Mar 08, 2012
Duncan McFetridge MP
Shadow Minister for Police
Shadow Minister for Correctional Services
Shadow Minister for Emergency Services
Shadow Minister for Road Safety
Shadow Minister for Volunteers
Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Be alarmed not just alert
Shadow Minister for Opposition Emergency Services, Dr Duncan McFetridge MP, said that the new Alert SA website is just more window dressing to disguise the real gaps in emergency services warnings in South Australia.
“While the website pulls some already available information into the one place, the benefit stops there, even the instructional video cuts out at a crucial stage,” said Dr McFetridge.
“None of our current systems provide push notifications to residents to warn them of incidents and impending danger. Instead they send a standard message to a billing address.
“The recent Woolundunga fire near Wilmington is a classic example where many Wilmington residents have Port Augusta as their billing address and so were not alerted.
“The Minister should be funding effective messaging systems not more facebook and twitter.
“Emergency Services Minister, Jennifer Rankine, is obviously not across her portfolio and should be very alarmed at the potential life threatening problems,” said Dr McFetridge.