Gasps, laughs and surprised murmurs cut through the wall of silence at the NSW State Library as the federal government’s emergency test alert blared.
Year 12 students frantically drilling through past papers, university students writing notes from their lectures and other diligent lunch-hour workers were interrupted by the AusAlert test notification on Monday afternoon.
One high school student, seen nodding off at their laptop, awoke with a jolt, while other library users scrambled through their bags, hoping to cut the ringing short.
Many just opened their phones, looked at their screens, and smiled at each other before putting their heads back down.
Delayed alerts intermittently rang for the next few minutes. Within moments, the quiet had returned.
Comedian claims Albanese taken ‘out of context’ in ‘shag, marry, date’ video
The comedian and radio presenter who hosted Anthony Albanese’s ‘shag marry date’ interview has spoken out – in a way – saying the moment was “taken out of context”.
Albanese joined the Bush Deep podcast, hosted by Nikki Osborne, where he nominated Kylie Minogue for all three categories when he was put on the spot. The prime minister later apologised “unequivocally” but the incident drew days of condemnation and debate in federal politics.
Osborne has stayed mostly quiet about the controversy that followed her interview, but in a new YouTube video, she responded – in rhyme – about the interview and the reactions. She said.
Those who took the time to watch, who’ve mastered thinking critical, laughed in spite of their own views; the rest though, got political.
They sifted through with blinkers on, a headline for their page. An angle that could feed their clicks, spark recreational outrage. And there it was; a silly game of shag marry date. A moment taken out of context. Some turbo fuel for hate.
Osborne claimed she received vile abuse online after the interview, including someone commenting “I hope cancer finds you soon”. She said:
What’s happened to my country where we cannot take a joke?
In a description of the video, she also wrote: “Australia used to be a country who could have a laugh about anything but are those days over?”
AusAlerts ‘another tool in the tool belt for emergency service agencies’, McBain says
State and territory governments will eventually be given control over when AusAlerts are issued, emergency management minister Kristy McBain has said.
Addressing concerns that the new warning system could be misused by other government agencies, such as the ATO, McBain said:
We would never want to dilute the effectiveness of a system like alert. It is incredibly important for us that this technology remains for the context it’s required in – and that is for emergencies.
We’ve worked really closely with our state and territory partners, and we’ll continue to do so.
While she said AusAlert is a “far more effective and resilient capability” than the current setup, McBain warned that technology hasn’t been designed to replace situational awareness:
There is no silver bullet in emergency management communication. This is another tool in the tool belt for emergency service agencies … people need to understand their local context.
Nobody is sitting around waiting for a message to come as their first point of contact … They have to continue to listen to the local advice from their emergency service authorities.
Developer thought he had ‘covered himself politically’ after allegedly paying for removal of building commissioner, NSW inquiry hears
Returning to the NSW Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac), the inquiry has heard a number of additional details about the allegations it is investigating under Operation Rosny.
They include Icac’s second allegation, that between 2020 and 2023, fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and his company, Toplace, made donations solicited or accepted by senior Liberals in exchange for outcomes sought by Nassif, including damage to the political career of then Liberal MP David Elliott, the removal of the then building commissioner, David Chandler, and “preventing [Chandler] from exercising his official functions in respect of Mr Nassif’s developments”.
During her opening statement this morning, counsel assisting the commission, Peggy Dwyer, played legally intercepted phone calls featuring Nassif. In one call, Nassif discuss issues with financial regulators with a friend and fellow developer. Dwyer alleges Nassif “was at pains to suggest that there was no need for either of them to worry about regulators now”, as he believed he had paid for Chandler’s removal. Nassif allegedly said:
I’m gonna step on his neck and strip him from his job. Just give me two months, because the Consumer Affair Minister, she’s gonna be my girl and the Fair Trading Minister she’s gonna to be one of my girls too, you know?… So, I’m gonna fuck him sideways.
The inquiry heard that two months after the October 2021 call, the then Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet, appointed Eleni Petinos as NSW minister of fair trading in a cabinet reshuffle. In July 2022, Chandler handed in his resignation following an investigation into his conduct that had been requested by Petinos, which later cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Emergency management minister says ‘don’t worry’ if you didn’t receive AusAlert
Minister for emergency management, Kristy McBain, says “don’t worry” to the Australians who did not receive an emergency alert today at 2pm.
Don’t worry if you did not receive an alert.
This could be because you are not in a coverage area … Your software was not up to date or your device was incompatible …
… The fact that we have reached and exceeded the target that we set shows that the technology works.
McBain said that 6% of phone towers were “offline for maintenance”, being upgraded or otherwise not operating when today’s AusAlert test signal was sent.
That means 94% of targeted cell towers successfully broadcast the AusAlert message this afternoon, which McBain says is above the National Emergency Management Agency’s target of 90%.
We’ve already touched base with telco partners around those, and we’re getting feedback that’s coming in already.
As I said before, the average that we thought we might get and we’ll continue to work with them in the coming weeks as we refine this system before it goes live in October this year.
The Government has urged people to submit feedback through an online form on it’s AusAlert website.
Pauline Hanson loses bid to overturn Mehreen Faruqi racial discrimination finding
A court has upheld the finding that Pauline Hanson engaged in racial discrimination against Mehreen Faruqi when she tweeted the Greens senator should “pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan”.
The One Nation leader launched the appeal in November, almost a month after Justice Angus Stewart found Hanson engaged in “seriously offensive” and intimidating behaviour against Faruqi in the September 2022 social media post that breached the Racial Discrimination Act.
On Monday, Stewart’s decision was upheld by federal court justices Melissa Perry, Geoffrey Kennett, and Elizabeth Bennett.
Faruqi was in court for the judgment, but Hanson did not make an appearance.
Read the full report:
Family of Indigenous man who died in custody launch legal action over decision not to charge police
The family of a young Aboriginal man who died after being restrained by police in an Alice Springs supermarket has launched legal action after the officers involved were not prosecuted, AAP reports.
Kumanjayi White, 24, died in the Coles supermarket in the Northern Territory city on 27 May, 2025 after two plainclothes police officers held him down in the confectionary aisle, sparking national outrage and rallies calling for an independent investigation.
His family were told on the eve of the first anniversary of White’s death that no charges would be laid.
On Monday, the family confirmed that they had launched legal action in the NT supreme court seeking answers over the decision.
Read the full story:
Response by NSW police force to Bondi terror attack ‘tremendous’, royal commission hears
A counter-terrorism expert, Scott Wilson, has told the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion that the Bondi Hanukah celebration “obviously” had a high threat level but praised the response time of first responders and emergency services.
One of the alleged shooters was shot within five minutes of the attack, and the second alleged shooter was apprehended within eight. Wilson, who has more than three decades of experience in the UK’s police force leading counter-terrorism initiatives, said:
It’s probably one of the most iconic places in Australia, it is one of the largest Jewish celebrations in Australia. So when you add all these pieces together, it was obviously, to me, going to be a very high level of threat at that event.
He said the response and speed by the NSW police officers was “tremendous”, but limited by the fact “they weren’t the right officers to be there”. In the UK, general duties officers don’t carry firearms, but specialist, highly trained officers do – which requires 12 weeks of dedicated, intensive training, compared with nine days for an average Australian officer.
Wilson:
You should have specialist officers there as quickly as you can to be able to deal with a terrorist attack with long arms … These specialist officers are in police cars patrolling … 24 hours a day. So in Bondi, that would be their patch … The numbers we have are very low, but they’re trained to a very high specification and to be there quickly.
Listen: Inside the violent online network coercing children to self-harm – Full Story podcast
This year the FBI issued urgent warnings to parents about 764, a global online community where children are manipulated into acts of violence.
With hundreds of investigations under way worldwide, including in Australia, 764 and groups like it are accused of using coercion to turn vulnerable minors into victims and, in some cases, predators.
In today’s episode of Full Story, Nour Haydar speaks to investigations reporter Ariel Bogle about the dangers to children these networks pose.
Domestic violence advocates warn AusAlert test could expose hidden safe phones
Ahead of today’s AusAlert test, domestic and family violence advocates raised concerns about the risk of the alert exposing “safe phones” and urged people to keep devices hidden for safety reasons.
Guardian Australia received reports during the alert that some phones which had been turned off still received the loud warning after being switched back on.
The Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre has raised concerns about the implications of an “alert that unexpectedly sounds at full volume” for people experiencing domestic and family violence.
Deputy CEO Althea Mackenzie said:
For many women escaping violence, a hidden safe phone can be vital. They are often used to call for help, speak to a support worker or make plans to leave safely.
These emergency warning systems save lives, and it’s important that they’re tested. However, it’s also critical that Australians understand the unintended risks they can pose. A little awareness could make an enormous difference for someone whose safety depends on a phone remaining hidden.
Guardian Australia reporter Jack Larkin turned off his phone while attending a court hearing for work and said he still received the alert after switching it back on.
After leaving court, I switched on my phone to receive the alert almost 10 minutes after the initial alarm.
AusAlert interim coordinator general Pat Hetherington said earlier this week the advice for people who have safe phones and hidden phones is for them to be switched off for a 24-hour period.
Terror attack contingency planning for Bondi Hanukah event would have been required in UK under new bill, royal commission hears
A counter-terrorism expert, Scott Wilson, has told the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion that the Hanukah celebration at Bondi would have required terrorist attack contingency planning if it had taken place in the United Kingdom under new legislation to boost community safety.
Wilson has more than three decades of experience in the UK’s police force leading counter-terrorism initiatives and is the director of Crisis Management Solutions.
He said there had been significant changes to the way events are planned and managed in the UK in the past two decades, driven in part by the 9/11 terror attack. That includes the introduction of local safety advisory groups, who provide advice to police and emergency services on events. Counter-terrorism security advisers are present for large-scale events, like major concerts or festivals.
Following the Manchester suicide bombing in 2017, the UK also introduced Martin’s Law, named after one of the victims, which requires venues and hosts of public events to take steps to prepare for a terrorist attack and ramp up counter-terrorism training for staff.
Wilson said the Bondi event would have required planning under the new legislation because it was ticketed and pre-planned.
The regime that’s put in place under Martin’s Law in the UK … for an outdoor public park event with hundreds of attendees, it would require the organisers or the owners of the site to get in touch with local authorities and consult with one of the safety advisory groups … That would include security cordons [and] how an evacuation or lockdowns would take place.
Emergency alert sound not played by some phones
Australia’s new emergency warning system, designed to prepare Australians for natural disasters and other crises, did not go off on all phones when it was tested on Monday afternoon.
Guardian Australia has been told owners of various devices including iPhone XRs, iPhone 12s, Apple watches and others, did not receive the AusAlert notification.
Others received the pop-up but their phones did not blare the accompanying sound.
There have also been reports of phones which had been turned off blasting the sound minutes after being turned back on.
Guardian Australia is seeking comment from the federal government.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
