South Wentworthville residents fight Telstra 5G small cell base station at Berkeley St

A western Sydney neighbourhood is fighting more 5G infrastructure it fears will emit unhealthy radiation levels, but others say it is time to upgrade and ‘catch up’ with the world.

South Wentworthville resident Em Dib supports 5G small cells.

South Wentworthville typifies many suburbs across Australia – multiple residents are opposed to 5G small cell stations while others say it is time the country kept up and delivered faster services to cope with demands.

Telstra is planning to install a small cell base station atop a power pole in front of Berkeley St resident Sue Bancroft’s home, a plan she fears will emit dangerous radiation through her house.

She criticised Telstra for installing so many of the stations in the residential, family-oriented neighbourhood where there are no commercial properties or apartments. There are already stations at Hamilton and Alto streets.

“I was very upset about the overkill of small cells, especially because there’s no shops anywhere near us – they’re on the other side of the M4 and Merrylands West,’’ she said.

“There’s no reason to have so many in a small area. They say they’re going to be discreet – they’re not going to be discreet for everyone to see driving up and down the street.’'

A petition has circulated among Berkeley St residents opposing small cell base stations.

Mrs Bancroft claims the station’s proximity to her dwelling breached Australia Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency guidelines.

While she acknowledged 5G research was inconclusive, she did not want her neighbours to be “guinea pigs”.

Her opposition to the cells prompted her to start a petition, which has about 20 signatures and was presented to Cumberland Council last week.

Lisa Casbolt is another opponent after a unit was placed in front of her Hamilton St house two months ago.

“It’s under 10m from where we sit watching the tele and obviously the effects of this are not well known,’’ she said.

“We did our research and it’s not clear, and the consultation (with Telstra) is inadequate.’’

Telstra has also earmarked the technology at Richmond St where multiple members of the Bayssari family live.

“They are ugly – it’s an eyesore,’’ Andy Bayssari said.

“The wires are ugly enough and then you have this tower in front of you.’’

His brother, Paul, also signed the petition.

“It’s awful,’’ he said.

“It will devalue the house and we’ve got three children – I don’t want that radiation anywhere near the house. They’re all under the age of eight.’’

Em Dib in front of the property at Berkeley St, South Wentworthville, where the station is earmarked.

A small cell base station at nearby Hamilton St.

However, IT worker and Berkeley St resident Em Dib has welcomed the Telstra proposal and said the public was misinformed about small cells.

“I believe in science and, honestly, I’m tired of all these conspiracies,’’ she said.

“It will be great for faster internet. It’s a good upgrade for our country as a whole. It’s about time we started catching up to other countries.’’

Ms Dib, who has lived in Berkeley St for 25 years, said her brother was a gamer and her father liked to stream overseas programs.

“Everyone’s streaming, everyone’s on YouTube, no one watches TV anymore,’’ she said.

She also backed Telstra’s decision to install multiple 5G cells because it would keep up with the demands of more people working from home.

Peter and Jackie Botros are neutral about the station, which Telstra initially planned to add to the power pole in front of the house where they raise four children.

“I’m concerned because there’s a fair bit of a stigma that’s based around the 5G towers,’’ Mrs Botros said.

Her fears were alleviated after she spoke to a friend who is related to a technician who said some household appliances generate more radiation.

“When birds fall out of the sky dying, I’ll be concerned,’’ she said.

Peter and Jackie Botros with their daughters Christelle, six months, Ella, 11, and Ava, six. They are neutral about 5G cells.

Cumberland councillor Greg Cummings tabled the residents’ petition and echoed residents' concerns.

“The small cell base station will not be discreet and I think that is an understatement,’’ he said.

“There are a lot of children that live and play in this area and also elderly and no one really knows the long-term effects these cells will have on human and environmental wellbeing.’’

The council voted unanimously to write to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman to outline residents’ concerns.

Hamilton and Richmond streets, South Wentworthville, where there is a 5G small cell station and one planned respectively.

It also agreed to write to subcontractor SAQ Consulting about community feedback and confirm whether the owner of the power poles (Endeavour Energy) had been notified of the work.

A Telstra spokesman defended the 5G rollout and said locals had benefited from the faster speeds and higher capacity.

“Customer demand for mobile data continues to grow and we’re always working to further improve our service, so we’re rolling out small cells in some areas to deliver better coverage and capacity and performance for these communities,’’ he said.

“Installing low-power small cells on existing infrastructure ensures our customers can stay connected and continue to enjoy fast speeds, without needing to build another big mobile tower in the area.’’

The spokesman said Telstra took customers’ health seriously.

“We also acknowledge that some people are genuinely concerned about the possible health effects from electromagnetic energy (EME) and we’re committed to addressing those concerns responsibly,’’ he said.

“We rely on scientific advice, not only from our own local experts, but also from international researchers at places such as the World Health Organisation. 5G is similar to both 4G and 3G when it comes to EME levels and both these technologies have been in operation across Australia for many years.’’

In 2020, a parliamentary inquiry into 5G mobile technology heard there was “a high level of concern” among some members of the community who were worried 5G was a risk to human health.

Communications and the Arts committee chair Dr David Gillespie said: “The committee received assurances from Australian Government agencies and researchers that 5G is a safe technology and the safety standards in place are more than able to make sure that health is not affected when 5G is deployed.’’