Education Minister objects to Telstra’s mobile phone base station at Stewart House in Curl Curl
A controversial plan to install a mobile base station on the roof of a northern beaches school is being opposed by the Education Minister, but Telstra says it’s not giving up.
Manly
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Education authorities are formally objecting to a controversial proposal to install a Telstra mobile base station on the roof of a northern beaches school.
But Telstra said the proposed site at Stewart House in Curl Curl still remains the best available location to provide improved mobile coverage in area and as a result, Telstra is continuing to pursue this option.
Upset residents voiced their fears after the charity revealed it had accepted Telstra’s offer in principle to allow a base station on its grounds.
In a new twist this week Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said in a letter that the department would not support the application because it has “a policy of prudent avoidance in relation to the installation of mobile telecommunications facilities within school grounds”.
The letter dated November 19 was addressed to resident Kylie Gill, a mum of two who lives just 15 metres from the school, who wrote to the department to voice her concerns.
The letter said the minister acknowledged her concerns and wanted to assure her that the “safety of students and staff in schools is of paramount importance”.
Stewart Houses’s chief operating officer Murray O’Donnell said the charity had not yet not received any correspondence from the department on the issue and therefore could not comment.
Residents have campaigned to stop the move after they learnt Stewart House had agreed to the 4G station, subject to public consultation.
The station could later be updated to accommodate 5G.
But Ms Gill, 45, said no-one knows the long term effects of 5G technology, which is currently being rolled out nationally, and said she was angry the charity was allowing a mobile phone station to be built above where children sleep.
She said the decision “will expose vulnerable children to electromagnetic radiation proximate to where they sleep and play” and will compromise Stewart House’s “positive standing within the local community if they proceed with this proposal”.
Ms Gill said she was also concerned about her own children’s health and the fact the building was heritage listed.
The charity — which advertises on its website that it is a “safe haven” for disadvantaged country children — sees 1700 children a year visit the school for 12 days stays.
Telstra said there were no health implications from phone stations and it followed the advice from expert health authorities including the World Health Organisation and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.
The two organisations currently advise that there is no substantiated scientific evidence that radiofrequency technologies that operate within national and international safety standards cause health effects, including children and pregnant women.
Telstra has been approached for comment and is currently reviewing the application’s status.