Live: Plibersek defends PM's attendance at dinner hosted by billionaire family

Australia is set to conduct a nationwide test of its new emergency alert system, AusAlert, today at 2 PM AEST. The system is designed to broadcast critical warnings directly to millions of smartphones across the country, aiming to enhance public safety during emergencies.

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Today the national test is testing how the cell broadcast technology works at scale. We obviously need to know that we can send millions of messages across the country in near real time.

Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain explained that the test is crucial for evaluating the scalability of the cell broadcast technology. "We obviously need to know that we can send millions of messages across the country in near real time," McBain stated. She noted that previous community-based trials in smaller areas have been successful, paving the way for this larger-scale national assessment.

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We've done that with our community based trials in smaller areas, so today it is about testing that national system at scale.

Australians receiving the alert are advised that if they do not wish to participate, they should turn off their phones at least one hour before the test or switch them to airplane mode. The recommendation is to keep devices off or in airplane mode during the test and for at least 24 hours afterward to ensure the system's performance is not affected by user devices.

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We'll work out preferences before the next election but one thing we won't be is in a coalition with the unions and the big super funds, which is all this government is.

In other political news, Andrew Bragg, the shadow housing minister, has indicated that the Liberal Party might be open to forming a coalition with One Nation after the next federal election. This stance contrasts with previous statements by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, who had ruled out such a deal. Bragg suggested that while preferences would be determined closer to the election, the Liberals would not align with unions and large super funds, framing a potential coalition with One Nation as a possibility if needed.

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If there needs to be a coalition, we'll work it out then, but we won't be in a coalition with the unions and the big super funds.