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Speaker 1: Let's talk about mobile phone towers, and I know in

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Speaker 1: Mount Barker at the moment there's concern amongst people living

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Speaker 1: there just off Wellington Road and surrounding streets where a

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Speaker 1: five G vodaphone tower has been planned and not just planned.

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Speaker 1: I understand the closing day for submissions into whether it

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Speaker 1: should be built or not closed last night or this

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Speaker 1: morning at midnight, so a number of people have put

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Speaker 1: in submissions, as I understand it. But this center is

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Speaker 1: in the proximity of a couple of childcare centers and

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Speaker 1: shops in the area, and certainly housing as well. When

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Speaker 1: you leave the freeway and drive down Wellington Road and

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Speaker 1: you go past the turnoff into the heart of Mount Barker,

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Speaker 1: the shops and everything else, you keep going. You get

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Speaker 1: to the roundabout and you take the strath exit, which

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Speaker 1: is essentially straight ahead but on an angle, and the

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Speaker 1: Vota phone tower plan for down there just past the

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Speaker 1: railway line now used by steam Ranger. David Leech is

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Speaker 1: Mayor of Mount Barker District Council. Godoy, David, how are.

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Speaker 2: You, Good morning, Matthew, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: I'm well and residents would have complained to you I'm

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Speaker 1: sure or mentioned it to you along the way.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely. I go shopping in the main street and people

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Speaker 2: talk to me and at social occasions. This has been

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Speaker 2: a topic of some interest lately.

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Speaker 1: It wouldn't be the first five G tower in Mount Barker,

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Speaker 1: would it.

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Speaker 2: I don't know, Matthew. I know, from where I'm sitting

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Speaker 2: right now, I can see a four G tower just

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Speaker 2: over the hill from where I'm sitting outside a cafe,

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Speaker 2: and I know there are five G base stations around

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Speaker 2: the town. So it's quite likely that there wouldn't be

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Speaker 2: a tower to accommodate both stations.

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Speaker 1: No, that's right. So I mean this is Voda Fraye.

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Speaker 1: You'd imagine Telstra certainly, and probably opt too would already

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Speaker 1: have a tower in the vicinity.

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Speaker 2: You would expect.

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Speaker 1: So, so what is the process here? Does council sign

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Speaker 1: off on towers? Does it come through council for planning approval?

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Speaker 1: Or is it something that I know AKMA The federal

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Speaker 1: government Communications Authority regulates them. So does it need council

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Speaker 1: level involvement?

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Speaker 2: It doesn't need the council itself to make a decision

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Speaker 2: about it. What all councils in South Australia do is

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Speaker 2: have a Council Assessment Panel that look after the matters

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Speaker 2: to do with planning, and that was done a fair

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Speaker 2: while ago, specifically to take away these planning decisions from

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Speaker 2: councils and put them in the hands of a special

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Speaker 2: committee comprising of four independent, well qualified people and a

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Speaker 2: member of Council who is voted by a council to

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Speaker 2: sit on that panel of five people, and they are

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Speaker 2: the people who review the planning assessments that need that

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Speaker 2: high level of scrutiny and they work spectacularly well.

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Speaker 1: Okay, So this one then was Council approached about this

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Speaker 1: votaphone tower.

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Speaker 2: There has been an application made to go to the

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Speaker 2: Council Assessment Panel and that comes through the normal processes

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Speaker 2: of planning that all anything that is built in any

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Speaker 2: council area goes through council and some are passed under delegation,

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Speaker 2: some are referred to the Council Assessment Panel, and this

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Speaker 2: is one of those ones that is going to the

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Speaker 2: Council Assessment Panel where members of the public can make

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Speaker 2: a submission. As you rightly said, it closed yesterday and

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Speaker 2: we've received a number of submissions and probably but not

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Speaker 2: guaranteed it will be in the November Council Assessment Panel meeting,

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Speaker 2: but it will be heard either in November or, if

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Speaker 2: not in November, very likely in December, where people can

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Speaker 2: come along members of the public can listen to the

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Speaker 2: arguments for and against that tower, and the people who

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Speaker 2: have already made a representation to the committee will be

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Speaker 2: heard on the day.

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Speaker 1: Okay, all right, so there's there's a chance for people

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Speaker 1: to do that. I mean it is a bit of

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Speaker 1: I suppose nimbi is and no one would like this

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Speaker 1: in their backyard, but nevertheless they have to go somewhere.

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Speaker 1: If we're to have communications, I can't see people getting

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Speaker 1: rid of their phones very quickly.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm talking to you on a mobile phone at

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Speaker 2: the moment, Matthew. So the other thing, too, is that

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Speaker 2: we are, every one of us having radio waves passing

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Speaker 2: through our body by the hundreds every second that you

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Speaker 2: are sitting in a in a studio. I imagine that

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Speaker 2: would have a very very large amount of communication equipment

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Speaker 2: that would be using radio waves. In fact, everybody listening

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Speaker 2: to us is listening on a radio wave, it.

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Speaker 1: Is, And you're right, I mean, we can't move around

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Speaker 1: society anywhere with that unless you you know, you're going

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Speaker 1: out to the outback or somewhere. But that's probably the exception.

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Speaker 2: Well, there are people who choose to do that. There

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Speaker 2: is somebody who has explained to me that they're not

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Speaker 2: comfortable with all of this radiation that comes from the

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Speaker 2: normal part of living that we all accept and all

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Speaker 2: live with daily, and that person has chosen to move

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Speaker 2: somewhere where there are no powers or no radio waves.

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Speaker 2: So some people do do that. You can still buy

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Speaker 2: there's an island somewhere.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure that you're right, all right. So normal processes

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Speaker 1: now is for this to go to council and you'll

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Speaker 1: be taken.

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Speaker 2: Now what normally won't get a councilor so you're planning

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Speaker 2: that committee council as testsment, Yeah, gotcha panel, and they

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Speaker 2: will make the decision, and if people are unhappy with

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Speaker 2: that decision, there is an appeals process from from there.

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Speaker 2: But as you say, there are a great many of

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Speaker 2: these towers all over Australia already.

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Speaker 1: What sort of weight is given to residents concern in

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Speaker 1: this sort of situation.

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Speaker 2: Well, I go to down half the panels and the

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Speaker 2: people who do make representations to the panel a very

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Speaker 2: carefully listened to and the panel get those representations ahead

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Speaker 2: of time, and I speak to our Deputy mayor who

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Speaker 2: is on that panel, and he assures me that he

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Speaker 2: reads them extremely closely and on the day people do

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Speaker 2: have the opportunity to further expand on what they wish

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Speaker 2: to say, and it is carefully considered by that panel.

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Speaker 2: They make good decisions, Missy.

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Speaker 1: Does Counsel receive any funding as a result of the

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Speaker 1: tales being installed?

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Speaker 2: I believe so, I reckon they'd have to pay rates.

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Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure they would.

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Speaker 1: Okay, So in the right so you charge them for

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Speaker 1: the what if the lands private? If it is owned

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Speaker 1: by and in fact where this one is, I understand

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Speaker 1: a business premises is giving up part of their lands,

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Speaker 1: So do you charge separately for the tower in that case.

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Speaker 2: It's a bit about more pay grade what you're asking now, Matthew.

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Speaker 2: I'm sure that I can find out from council staff

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Speaker 2: can get back to you exactly how the charging goings.

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Speaker 2: But if there is an income producing asset that's on council,

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Speaker 2: within the council boundaries, I'm pretty sure the very good

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Speaker 2: rates Offices of Mount Barker District Council will make sure

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Speaker 2: they get some revenue from that.

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Speaker 1: All appreciate your time this morning. David Leach, thank you.

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Speaker 2: You're welcome.

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Speaker 1: Matthew, the Mayor of Mount Barker on a five G

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Speaker 1: Vodaphone tower to go in along Wellington Road, just near

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Speaker 1: the railway line, just a bit past it on the

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Speaker 1: way out of town and on the right, I understand

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Speaker 1: on the road but near a childcare center. In fact,

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Speaker 1: there's a couple in the vicinity