Blackout Emergency Procedures

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:20): And a further supplementary: what procedures does the government have in place regarding the distribution of captioned and Auslan interpreted videos during times when television may not be an option, for example, distributing videos via social media?

The Hon. P. Malinauskas: Sorry, just say that again?

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: What processes are in place for when an emergency is declared, an Auslan interpreter and captions may be required, or preferred, but television may not be an option because the power is out? Does the government have a procedure for distributing those videos via social media, for example?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:20): The official messages regarding emergency services come through ABC radio—that is our official broadcaster when it comes to emergency services messages. We always encourage members of the community, during an emergency, to listen to ABC radio on a battery-powered radio, as that is the primary source of information, and of course that would continue to be able to operate during the course of a blackout.

Social media continues to be a tool that emergency services use, but when it comes to other technologies we are also very active in using technology, like apps. The Alert SA app is an official broadcaster and is available to all South Australians to be downloaded. Those people who have access to social media, for instance (presumably they also would have access to a mobile phone or the internet), would be best advised to use the Alert SA service because it provides real-time updates and messages and people who are impaired in a hearing context would be able to use that service, and we would actively encourage it.