Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We all know that there are some things in life worth fighting for. Of course, all of us will fight for our families, all of us will fight for the values we believe in and all of us will fight for the principles that we think our community or our country should stand by. In the parliament today I want to stand up and very strongly commend a group of constituents in the Ryan electorate who are doing just that, who are fighting for something they believe in.

I want to pay tribute to the people of the suburbs of Rainworth and Bardon in particular, and to those in the wider pocket of those suburbs, because they are standing up and fighting for their family security, for the value of their home and, above all, for the future security of their families and their children’s health. I refer to the David and Goliath battle that is taking place between the local community of Bardon and Rainworth against a giant Australian corporation, Telstra.

In the last six months the community of Bardon and Rainworth has been activated, motivated and indeed inspired to defend themselves, to defend their little community, to defend the potential health hazards for their children by standing up against Telstra. I make it very clear that I do not know whether telecommunications technology and mobile phone technology is such that it absolutely has a detrimental impact on the health of young people and elderly people and, indeed, people generally. But, having spoken to a handful neurosurgeons, specialists and other medical professionals and being persuaded by their eloquence and by their knowledge, I do know that it is better to be safe than sorry. In this context, as the member for Ryan, I stand shoulder to shoulder with all the families of Bardon and Rainworth. It is in their interests that I do so and I think that is what a good local federal MP should do.

Such has been the dedication, the commitment and the steel in this community that they have raised tens of thousands of dollars to legally defend themselves, to legally take on this multibillion dollar company, Telstra, in their fight. They believe they have right on their side. Certainly, as a witness to how Telstra has gone about the process of consulting—or indeed not consulting and not engaging—with the local community in a fashion whereby they ought to be proud of the way they conduct themselves as a great Australian company, I have observed from my position as the federal member for Ryan that the local community has right on their side. I am very much a friend of Telstra. I am very much aware of the significance of Telstra to our corporate architecture, of the tens of thousands of people that they employ and of the great philanthropic and charitable work they do. But that does not give them the right to just come into the local community without legitimate, proper process, without consulting local communities, without engaging with local, state and federal representatives, and without the due process of discussion and dialogue. It does not give them the right to come in and trample all over the interests of local communities.

I want to pay tribute to Channel 7 and the Sunrise program because this morning they gave the local community the opportunity, through the local reporter in Brisbane, Michelle Tapper, of going national to talk about the importance of this issue. I might say that this is potentially not only an issue for my local community but also an issue for communities throughout this country. It is important that communities are aware of both their rights and their obligations as well as, of course, what big corporations can do.

I pay tribute to these people and particularly to Sandra Boland, who very eloquently went on national TV. She is a mum and a lady who is very active and very committed in doing the right thing by her community. Of course, what they are trying to do is prevent the installation of the mobile phone tower in Gerler Street, Bardon, where there are other options, and that has to be stressed.

This is all about being reasonable and doing things in a spirit of goodwill. No-one denies the importance of mobile phones in our community and in our modern-day society, but that does not mean that any company can come in and trample over due process and over the interests of local communities and suburbs where Australians have the right to go about their lifestyle in a way that is safe for their children. (Time expired)