G resford News •
The
February 2014, p 20
Smartphone App To Improve Emergency Reponse Member for Paterson, Bob Baldwin has welcomed the launch of the Emergency+ smartphone app by the Australian Government. When activated, the Emergency+ app provides users with their GPS reference which they can verbally provide to an emergency call taker to pinpoint their physical location.
This app solves this problem by providing callers with the ability to verbally provide emergency call operators with their location information as determined by their smartphone’s GPS capability.
The app also contains the emergency contact numbers and a short explanation of when to call nonThe increase in mobile phone use by Australians means that more than 65 emergency numbers such as the Police Assistance Line (131 444) and per cent of calls to Triple Zero are the SES national number (132 500). made from mobile phones. This is to help members of the Sometimes mobile phone users are not aware of their physical location – public dial the correct number and making it difficult for emergency call reduce the number of calls to the operators to accurately and quickly Triple Zero (000) service that should dispatch emergency services. be directed to another service. The recent bushfires throughout the Hunter Region have highlighted the need for initiatives such as Emergency+ with concerned residents trying to pinpoint the locations of raging fires the introduction of technology such as Emergency+ makes this task easier and can ensure emergency services can gain quicker information on locations of fires, but also other emergencies like road incidents.
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The Emergency+ app is available free of charge on iOS and Android devices through the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. The development of the app was funded by the Australian Government through a National Emergency Management Project grant. Contact: The Hon Bob Baldwin MP: 0419 694 620.
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Australian Government Mobile Service Centre Assistance The Australian Government Mobile Service Centre is supporting rural communities by providing convenient access to Australian Government payments and services. This specialised vehicle offers a wide range of face to face and self service assistance for rural families, older Australians, students, job seekers, people with disability, carers, farmers and self-employed people. You can visit the Mobile Service Centre: East Gresford: near Hotel Beatty Friday 21 February, 9.30 to 12.00 Vacy: near Vacy Hotel Friday 21 February, 1.30 to 4.00 Experienced specialist staff travel with the Mobile Service Centre and provide friendly, face-to-face service, information and support. Our staff can assist you with Centrelink, Medicare, Australian Hearing and Child Support payment and service options. They are specialists in rural servicing and live and work in the communities they serve. If the assistance you’re after is not available, arrangements will be made for someone from the relevant organisation to contact you. For more information, go to humanservices. gov.au and search for Mobile Service Centre or call 132 316.