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                  Call to fast-track State Alert system

                  Weekend Courier - Rockingham, Page: 7
                  Friday, 02 January 2009
                  Ref: 45595109



            THE Kwinana Industries Council is calling for a proposed emergency 
            communications system, known as State Alert, to be fast-tracked and 
            established for local industry as a matter of urgency, with no 
            adequate system in place to alert the community about an emergency.

            KIC director Chris Oughton said the KIC had been in contact with 
            Police Commissioner Karl O ’Callaghan and Police Minister Rob 
            Johnson to get the system built, after it stalled last year. Mr 
            Oughton said the only system that was operating to alert the 
            community about an emergency was 000 ’ and that was performing 
            unsatisfactorily.

            The planned State Alert system is owned and operated by the WA 
            Police Service and was conceived locally by the KIC and the WA 
            Police Service when it was called PC Cops.

            Mr Oughton said despite there being other means for industrial 
            incidents to be communicated, there was nothing available to 
            communicate emergencies to the community.

            The Kwinana Industries Council Community Information Service is a 
            company to community dial-in 130C 304 346 ’ service where a company 
            records information on the system about things that happen which 
            have an effect outside their boundaries.

            Company to company communication also occurs via the Kwinana 
            Industries Mutual Aid radio system.

            The Kwinana Progress Association said that it would welcome any 
            additional communication systems for industry, as companies were not 
            effectively using the existing systems.