Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of residents in my electorate of Greenway who strongly oppose Telstra's proposal to build a 28.5 metre mobile phone tower in Quakers Hill.

On Monday evening, a group of approximately 70 residents met to raise these concerns regarding the proposed construction of this tower. I would like to recognise the efforts of Kathi Janssens, a resident of Quakers Hill, who organised the meeting. Indeed, I would like to thank the many residents who attended the meeting to make their voices heard. I, too, am concerned about this proposal and I understand and completely support the reservations of these local residents. The proposed location is simply unacceptable because of its close proximity to homes, a large number of schools, childcare centres and aged-care facilities. A 28.5 metre mobile phone tower is not only an eyesore; residents have raised serious concerns about the potential health effects arising from this proximity.

I call on Telstra to instead pursue co-location of its new antenna on an existing tower. This would be consistent with the long-standing policy objective of the regulatory regime designed to minimise inefficient investment in new towers, as well as the detrimental aesthetic and environmental outcomes of tower proliferation.

Once again, I thank the residents of Quakers Hill for making their voices heard on this issue. I am committed to advocating on their behalf to ensure that Telstra on this occasion—and all other carriers in future—take local residents' concerns into account.