{"id":329113,"date":"2023-02-23T18:24:35","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T08:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=329113"},"modified":"2023-03-01T18:27:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T08:27:10","slug":"mayors-vote-rejects-5g-tower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/02\/23\/mayors-vote-rejects-5g-tower\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor&#8217;s Vote Rejects 5G Tower"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_329124\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-329124\" style=\"width: 740px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20230221rally.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-329124\" src=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20230221rally.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"740\" height=\"460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20230221rally.jpg 740w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20230221rally-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20230221rally-269x167.jpg 269w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20230221rally-285x177.jpg 285w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20230221rally-340x211.jpg 340w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20230221rally-263x163.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-329124\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Brett Otto looks on as speaker Michelle Anderson addresses Tuesday evening&#8217;s 5G tower rally<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_327598\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-327598\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/jane-erkens-p.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-327598\" src=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/jane-erkens-p.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"290\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-327598\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cr Jane Erkens and Cr Gavin Jones spoke in favour of the tower<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>February 23, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>South Burnett Mayor Brett Otto used his casting vote on Wednesday to knock back a proposal to build a Telstra 5G mobile phone tower on the outskirts of Kingaroy.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to refuse the application for a Material Change Of Use for the South Burnett Pistol Club site in Redmans Road was greeted by cheers and applause from the packed Council gallery.<\/p>\n<p>The same gallery booed and jeered when Cr Jane Erkens attempted to speak in favour of the proposal. Cr Erkens argued that people moving to the area wanted fast and reliable internet coverage, and that the technology was safe.<\/p>\n<p>The application for the Material Change Of Use was submitted on behalf of Amplitel Pty Ltd, which would have built the tower.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Telstra spokesperson (see below) said the telco would now consider its options following the Council decision.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tower opponents rallied outside the proposed 5G tower site on Tuesday evening after learning Council staff had recommended the MCU application be approved, with conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at that rally, Mayor Otto said councillors were free to reject the recommendation and invited the rally attendees to come along to Wednesday&#8217;s Council meeting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>At the meeting, Mayor Otto moved, Cr Kathy Duff seconded, that the application not be approved for the following reasons:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The potential impact on the community as to mental health,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The detrimental impact on the visual amenity of the rural residential precinct and landscape,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine concerns raised by the community,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The impact through construction on access in the local residential area, and<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Environmental impact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Mayor Otto said the &#8220;jury&#8217;s out&#8221; on the physical health impacts of 5G technology.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s differing views from science, but there&#8217;s no doubt that the mere presence of a 5G tower within a location &#8211; the mere thought that it may cause harm &#8211; is enough to affect the mental health of our residents; enough to give rise to anxiety which can have detrimental impacts on their health,&#8221; Mayor Otto said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The visual amenity of that beautiful rural landscape we have up there on Redmans Road will be adversely impacted upon.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is a rural residential area\u00a0 &#8230; developed so that people can enjoy a country lifestyle without large buildings and infrastructure around them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He said the genuine beliefs of the local community needed to be taken seriously.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The people have spoken. They are very concerned about this,&#8221; the Mayor said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cr Erkens said she had consulted with residents who wanted better internet coverage.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>She said 80 per cent of Australians now had 5G coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Turning to visual amenity, Cr Erkens said the tower was going to be &#8220;way up in the air&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is not going to stand out any more than the big (Pistol Club) fence going along there,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>She also pointed out that Swickers abattoir was on the same road.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When you say that they haven&#8217;t decided whether it&#8217;s safe or not, everything that I&#8217;ve read actually says that it is safe,&#8221; Cr Erkens said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I believe that the majority of our community want 5G connectivity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And she found some of the comments made at Tuesday&#8217;s rally very difficult to believe.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I understand that there&#8217;s a lot of people here today but I also understand there a lot more people in our community who rely on councillors to look after what they want. The ones that I have spoken to do want me to do the right thing by them, and that is to be voting against your motion, Mr Mayor.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cr Kathy Duff said she 100 per cent supported the Mayor&#8217;s motion.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I saw the commitment and the concerns that were raised there yesterday (at the rally),&#8221; Cr Duff said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are an extended arm and voice of the community, and the community, in my opinion, has spoken on this. And they do not want that tower in that particular setting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cr Gavin Jones said he counted 67 people at Tuesday&#8217;s rally, and not all were local residents.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We have 18,500 ratepayers and 33,000 people that we represent,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>He said he understood the concerns, but as a councillor he had to represent the whole region.<\/p>\n<p>He said World Health reports contradicted what the speakers said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve had almost as many phone calls &#8230; as what there were people standing there yesterday in the rain, saying they were in favour of it,&#8221; Cr Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If this was to be voted against, the telco provider has the ability to go to the Planning Court and appeal this decision which they probably will. And they&#8217;ll probably win &#8230; and it will be a substantial cost.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Otto said he found it &#8220;interesting&#8221; Cr Jones said he had received 60-odd phone calls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I live in Kingaroy. I am the Mayor. My phone number is all over the website. I advertised this on Facebook, and I haven&#8217;t had a phone call from a Kingaroy resident saying that they want the tower,&#8221; Mayor Otto said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What I did see was 67 people lined up there who took a unanimous vote yesterday to say that they don&#8217;t support it &#8230; It was an open invitation to anyone who wanted to come and share their views on the tower. It was on the radio, it was on social media, it was spread through the community.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So if you want the tower, your opportunity was to come up there and tell us yesterday. It was an open forum and I went up with an open mind.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mayor Otto said he had done his research into prior decisions, citing councils named in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aph.gov.au\/DocumentStore.ashx?id=cd161cf8-0441-4c24-b271-ac647763096b&amp;subId=672523\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">submission<\/a> (163kb PDF, name withheld) made to a 2019 Federal Government inquiry into the deployment, adoption and application of 5G in Australia.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He said he would be proposing a moratorium on the 5G rollout to a future Standing Committee meeting of Council &#8220;until science and further research is undertaken&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Put to the vote, Crs Erkens and Jones voted against the Mayor&#8217;s motion to block the tower construction; while Mayor Otto and Cr Duff voted for it.<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Otto then made his casting vote as chairman, rejecting the Material Change Of Use application.<\/p>\n<p>Councillors Scott Henschen, Kirstie Schumacher and Danita Potter were not present in the Chamber during the debate and vote, citing conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>External link: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acma.gov.au\/local-councils-and-network-facilities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Local Councils And Network Facilities<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>A Telstra spokesperson told southburnett.com.au the organisation would now consider its options.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Demand for mobile connectivity is continuing to grow in the South Burnett and there is a need to improve mobile speeds and coverage for local residents,&#8221; the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our proposed mobile base station would provide the latest and fastest mobile technology to the area.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We will be carefully considering our options over the coming months in terms of a future way forward.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He reiterated that Telstra took its responsibilities regarding the health and safety of its customers and the community very seriously.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We also acknowledge that some people are genuinely concerned about the possible health effects from electromagnetic energy (EME) and we\u2019re committed to addressing those concerns responsibly,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We rely on scientific advice, not only from our own local experts but also from international researchers at places such as the World Health Organisation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;5G is similar to both 4G and 3G when it comes to EME levels and both these technologies have been in operation across Australia for many years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related articles:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/02\/22\/telstra-defends-tower-plan\/\"><strong>Telstra Defends Tower Plan<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/02\/21\/locals-rally-in-the-rain-against-5g\/\">Locals Rally In The Rain Against 5G<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Burnett Mayor Brett Otto used his casting vote on Wednesday to knock back a proposal to build a Telstra 5G mobile phone tower on the outskirts of Kingaroy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":329124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,22,16,3],"tags":[1131],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.11 - 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