{"id":341487,"date":"2023-12-01T13:32:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T03:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=341487"},"modified":"2024-04-11T20:39:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T10:39:42","slug":"costs-of-5g-appeal-protected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/12\/01\/costs-of-5g-appeal-protected\/","title":{"rendered":"Costs Of 5G Appeal ‘Protected’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Burnett Mayor Brett Otto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 1, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

The true cost of the South Burnett Regional Council’s failed attempt to stop the construction of Telstra’s 5G tower in Redmans Road, Kingaroy, may never be known.<\/p>\n

Sources within Council have told southburnett.com.au<\/strong> varying amounts, ranging from $24,000 to “almost $50,000”.<\/p>\n

However, a Council spokesperson said on Friday that Council could not confirm a figure as “this information is exempt and is protected by legal privilege”.<\/p>\n

Amplitel, a construction arm of Telstra, lodged an appeal to the Planning and Environment Court in April against Council’s decision to knock back an application to build a new mobile base station in the grounds of the South Burnett Pistol Club.<\/p>\n

Mayor Brett Otto, who a day earlier had met with protesters opposed to the project, used his casting vote at a Council meeting in February to reject an application for a Material Change of Use for the site.<\/p>\n

Council officers had recommended the application be approved.<\/p>\n

Cr Jane Erkens and Deputy Mayor Gavin Jones voted against the Mayor\u2019s motion to block the tower construction; while Mayor Otto and Cr Kathy Duff voted for it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mayor Otto then used his casting vote to break the deadlock, saying he had “done his research” and called for a moratorium on the rollout of 5G towers \u201cuntil science and further research is undertaken\u201d.<\/p>\n

Other councillors declared conflicts of interest and did not take part in the discussion.<\/p>\n

The matter was mentioned six times in court during different stages of the appeal process.<\/p>\n

In October, the SBRC issued a statement saying it had accepted legal advice to resolve the matter, after months of mediation.<\/p>\n

The Court ordered Amplitel and the SBRC pay their own costs.<\/p>\n