Mullumbimby Community Action Network

Originally published 12Mar2014

mullum-zine

NBN Tower submission & info

Newsletter 149
12 March 2014

Newsletter 149 - 12 March 2014


NBN TOWER, MAIN ARM

Submissions close Mon 17th March, so best to get them in this Fri.
Basic Submission for DA 10.2014.31.1
To Whom It May Concern:
Please be advised that I oppose DA 10.2014.31.1, Proposed Fixed Wireless Facility by NBN Co., for reasons of loss of visual amenity, damage to native trees and wildlife, and potential adverse health effects to the community from increased levels of microwave radiation.
Your Name and Address

******
Change as you like, or simply cut and paste "as is" into a new email to Council council@byron.nsw.gov.au. Put the DA number in the subject line. Don't let anyone dissuade you from mentioning health concerns.

You can cc: the General Manager as well: ken.gainger@byron.nsw.gov.au Ask your friends to do likewise. This is our chance to be heard.

Here is a link to comprehensive Submission which lists 13 objections.
http://users.tpg.com.au/pnielsen/NBN Tower DA Submission.pdf
http://users.tpg.com.au/pnielsen/EMR Health Effects Chart.pdf

If you would like to receive a free DVD with thousands of scientific references to the adverse health effects of EMR, click "contact" on http://www.mullumwifi.com Or ... click the link below for a categorised list of EMR bookmarks (web links) which contain more or less the same material. Suggest you save the page in case it is ever removed.
http://users.tpg.com.au/pnielsen/emr_bookmarks.html


Monique and Sambodh live in Main Arm. Following is summary of their situation and link to petition to Malcolm Turnbull, Fed Minister for Communications. Please sign!!

We live in a hilly rural landscape which has two fibre-optic cables running up valleys to the local primary schools from the nearest Telstra exchange. The National Broadband Network (NBN) has lodged a Development Application (DA) to build a 40m tall wireless 4G broadband tower on a watershed ridgeline in a Scenic Escarpment zoning, to broadcast out over the two valleys. This is unacceptable to us for three reasons.

Firstly, we protest the undemocratic lack of community consultation regarding whether we want this tower in the first place. Most of us have excellent Internet access via ADSL modems on the existing copper infrastructure, and it is not clear that the new tower will give us any better service in this difficult terrain for microwave transmission. The site was chosen secretly by approaching suitable landholders until one agreed to host the tower on a contract to NBN. The rest of us had no idea this was happening, until receiving a letter from NBN after they had lodged the DA. We have no recourse to stop the construction of this tower but to submit objections to the DA which requires intimate knowledge of the planning regulations or the employment of an expensive planner.

Secondly, it is an incredible waste of the thousands of dollars which previous governments have invested in providing the ideal fibre-optic solution to our primary schools, not to open them up to residents along the lines of the cables. NBN representatives at a Community Information Session gave no reason as to why they could not get access to the existing Telstra cables. Any residents unable to be reached by the cables can gain access to NBN via the satellite being launched in 2015.

Thirdly, we are concerned at the increase in the level of microwave radiation occasioned by the 24/7 transmission from the tower. In contrast, there is no radiation whatsoever involved in using fibre-optics, not to speak of the superior bandwidths possible. There is concern that continuous exposure to microwave radiation may cause long term health problems, so it is a better solution to avoid increasing the existing background level.

We call upon the Minister of Communications to negotiate with Telstra for access to existing rural fibre-optic cables in order to prevent the proliferation of unsightly metal towers on our scenic ridgelines and the resultant unnecessary increase in background microwave radiation.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Malcolm_Turnbull_Australian_Federal_Minister_for_Communications_To_use_existing_rural_fibreoptic_cables_instead_of_wirel/?tuuyyab

Kevin Rudd promised us fibre optic cables underground, and I am not happy about the microwave NBN Towers which are cheaper and much much more dangerous. Please check out some of the info ... it"s scary stuff.
Cheers
Deb




GFFBS website: http://www.gasfieldfreebyronshire.org
New FB page: Gasfield Free Byron Shire (put in the spaces)

BPN: contact betterplanningnetwork@gmail.com http://www.facebook.com/BetterPlanningNetwork/


NBN TOWER: FB: North Coast NBN Tower Action Group; mullumwifi.com

. http://www.csgfreenorthernrivers.org/
• http://coalseamgasnews
• http://www.keerronggassquad.org/
• http://www.gasileaks.com/
• http://lockthegate.org.au/
• http://www.stoppilligacoalseamgas.com.au/
• http://www.scenicrim.qld.gov.au/coal-mining-and-coal-seam-gas
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/coal-seam-gas-by-the-numbers/
• http://stop-csg-illawarra.org/
• http://www.ccag.org.au/
• http://bimblebox.org/
• http://ntn.org.au/
• http://www.facebook.com/