The following article was authorised by Sylvia Hale - Member of the legislative council NSW parliament. It discusses the 3G technology and how it requires more phone towers to be closer together.Sylvia Hale is a parliamentary spekesperson on planning and local government with the Greens NSW and supports residents fighting against the escalation of phone tower construction across the state.

Mobile Phone Towers and you

We have developed a kit to help residents campaign against illegal or unwanted mobile phone towers. A loophole in federal law means that carriers do not need to seek council approval before installing a phone tower that is deemed to be ‘low visual impact’, and ignores health and other impacts. The Greens are campaigning to amend the federal Telecommunications Act which exempts mobile phone carriers from seeking planning approval.

Videophones, which require towers to be much closer together than ordinary mobile phones have proved unpopular with the public, but carriers have continued to build networks in Sydney and other capital cities.

This has lead to widespread community outrage when phone towers have been erected in or next to schools, sporting fields and residential streets. The kit details the ways that communities can combat aggressive mobile phone companies that are trying to profit from installing their towers (rent free) in a park near you.

What should governments be doing?

Sylvia Hale has called upon the NSW Government to use its powers and funding to support residents fighting the massive escalation in phone tower construction across the state. If the new 3G 'video streaming' technology becomes popular, every person in Sydney will be living and working less than 750m from a high-radiation mobile phone tower.

Ther is a level of public concern about living and working under high electro-magnetic radiation levels.

Federal laws exempt telcos from lodging DAs with councils if the tower is 'low visual impact', and the state government does almost nothing to enforce planning laws.

Despite the weak Federal legislation, the NSW government can improve the situation by regularly inspecting mobile phone towers and enforcing the law. It can also give special grants to Councils to respond to the barrage of complaints they receive from their residents o­n this issue.

So far, both state and federal governments have sided with big business and sold out communities who don't want radiation from phone towers beamed into their schools, parks and backyards.

In Parliament Sylvia has challenged the Minister for Local Government to provide funding and support to communities fighting 3G mobile phone towers.

This followed a Greeens motion in Parliament calling o­n the state government to introduce legislation banning the installation of 3G mobile phone towers within 300 metres of any school ground, and calling o­n state and federal agencies to address the current deplorable state of law enforcement.