Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Litchfield Mayor Doug Barden is hopeful a solution to the placement of a phone tower in the rural area will have a good solution

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Litchfield Mayor Doug Barden is hopeful a solution to the placement of a phone tower in the rural area will have a good solution · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: But you may have heard on the show yesterday we
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  Speaker 1: caught up with Lincoln Kirby about those concerns that some
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  Speaker 1: residents out in Howard Springs have got at the moment
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  Speaker 1: around a well Telstra tower being erected and exactly where
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  Speaker 1: it is going to, well, where they're looking at it
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  Speaker 1: going up at this point in time. Now joining me
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  Speaker 1: on the line is Doug Barton, who is the Lichfield mayor.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Doug.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning Katie and listeners. Thanks for having me
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  Speaker 2: on the radio. Doug.
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  Speaker 1: As I said yesterday, we caught up with one of
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  Speaker 1: our listeners. We've had a lot of people get in
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  Speaker 1: contact with us as well since then, concerned about the
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  Speaker 1: site which has been ear marked for this Telstra tower. Firstly,
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  Speaker 1: can you talk us through exactly where it is.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I've met with quite a few of them and
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  Speaker 2: I certainly understand their concerns. And it is on Bronze
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  Speaker 2: Wing Avenue in Howard River Park and and there's there's
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  Speaker 2: four sites that have been been earmarked for that area
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  Speaker 2: for the for the calledst Town.
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  Speaker 3: One of those sites is owned owned by Lithfield Council
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  Speaker 3: and with Lifts World Council in good faith and I
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  Speaker 3: and I stressed in good faith.
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  Speaker 2: The lease have least some land for culture in order
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  Speaker 2: for them to have better communication in the area.
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  Speaker 1: All right, So Doug, why exactly is this location being chosen?
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  Speaker 1: Is it because it's a Litchfield Council land.
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  Speaker 2: I it's like when you go camping, Katie, why why
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  Speaker 2: do you why do you set your team up in
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  Speaker 2: a particular place. That's the way I see it were.
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  Speaker 2: We may have got we may have got we may have.
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  Speaker 3: Got this wrong.
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  Speaker 2: I accept that, but and we'll do our best to
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  Speaker 2: fix this. But and we'll work with the residents too,
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  Speaker 2: to see if we can come to an arrangement with
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  Speaker 2: with MIT tul To to move it to their preferred site,
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  Speaker 2: as long as nobody else objects going to their right,
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  Speaker 2: their preferred My undersman, now, this is my understanding, is
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  Speaker 2: that the resident of the Howard River Park would prefer
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  Speaker 2: the tower move to the corner is the Teller and
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  Speaker 2: Gunpoint Road. And it's also my understanding that there is
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  Speaker 2: the only problem, and I'm not sure that it is
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  Speaker 2: a problem there is that the land and zone rural
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  Speaker 2: living and apparently that that does have a small problem.
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  Speaker 1: Have a couple of but surely, surely the land where
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  Speaker 1: they are all living at the moment, as well as
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  Speaker 1: owned rural living.
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  Speaker 2: I would think, uh, yes, that would be right. But
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  Speaker 2: but this is on a conservation land, and and and
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  Speaker 2: and it's you'll have to ask tells you why they
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  Speaker 2: have picked this this site. As I say, we've done
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  Speaker 2: this in good faith, and we'll we'll work with the
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  Speaker 2: residents and with Telster to try and get a better
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  Speaker 2: to get a better outcomefort Obviously we can't guarantee that,
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  Speaker 2: but we'll do our best to try and and and
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  Speaker 2: fix fix this up.
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  Speaker 1: So it sounds like it's not a done a done
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  Speaker 1: deal at this point, Doug.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it probably well, well hopefully not. But it's out
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  Speaker 2: of councils. It's out of councils control. For us to
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  Speaker 2: break the leads could could could be a major problem
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  Speaker 2: or an expensive problem to counsel. So we're hoping that
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  Speaker 2: we can work with We're hoping that we can work
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  Speaker 2: with tels to find a more suitable site for the
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  Speaker 2: for the residents. There's there's four sites preferred sites there,
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  Speaker 2: but to those other sites end up going into other
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  Speaker 2: people in the other places where other people I think
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  Speaker 2: will have a problem with working hard to sort out.
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  Speaker 1: But so there are four potential locations. Obviously, this one
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  Speaker 1: is a location where the residents are incredibly concerned. They're
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  Speaker 1: saying to me that they feel they've not been consulted with.
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  Speaker 1: And then one of the other locations you're saying could
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  Speaker 1: potentially is also a rural residential area. But so what
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  Speaker 1: about like with all four of these locations, are any
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  Speaker 1: of them areas where they're not going to impede on
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  Speaker 1: someone's home?
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  Speaker 2: Well, that that the site I just said, Yeah, the
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  Speaker 2: corner is the Teller and and and and Gunpoint Road
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  Speaker 2: is a considerable distance from many houses, and and in
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  Speaker 2: reference to community engagement, it was our it was in
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  Speaker 2: our resolution of July last year. Now, this this has
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  Speaker 2: been a decision from the previous council. Now I was
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  Speaker 2: part of the previous councils, so I set some of
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  Speaker 2: the responsibility. But out of the seven councilors, there's five
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  Speaker 2: that are new. So yeah, so anyway, that yeah, that's
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  Speaker 2: that's it or there. But the community part of that
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  Speaker 2: resolution was that Telster was to community was to and
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  Speaker 2: engaged with the community for the area. And I've just
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  Speaker 2: got something written down here. Engagement remains a high priority
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  Speaker 2: for Council, but it is not practical or appropriate for
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  Speaker 2: Council to undertake consultation on behalf of the external developers.
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  Speaker 1: Literally, I suppose a lot of people listening this morning,
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  Speaker 1: Doug are going to be thinking to themselves, well, that's
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  Speaker 1: a bit of a handball as well from the council,
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  Speaker 1: because you know, if you've just said that it is
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  Speaker 1: it's council, you know it's councils entered in agreement with Telstra,
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  Speaker 1: and you guys are the ones that are there to
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  Speaker 1: represent the community. If the community is saying to you
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  Speaker 1: right now that they don't want this Telstra tower there,
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  Speaker 1: surely it is within the council boundaries to stand up
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  Speaker 1: for the people that they represent.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we're working hard behind the scenes to try and
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  Speaker 2: move this, to try and get a good outcome for everybody.
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  Speaker 2: And we're working behind the scenes. And I mean I've
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  Speaker 2: aughto talked. I was talking to a person never Scout,
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  Speaker 2: very close close by, but I don't think that's I
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  Speaker 2: don't and they were saying, oh, we'd love to have them,
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  Speaker 2: We'd love to have the Telstra tower there, all right.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's I think it's too far away.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, Emma has just been in contact with us, and
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  Speaker 1: she said, regarding the Telstra tower that's being proposed out
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  Speaker 1: the back of Howard Springs, one thing I also want
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  Speaker 1: to point out is the proposed development site is in
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  Speaker 1: fact a conservation zone and falls under the Howard River
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  Speaker 1: sand Plains. Is that the case?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I said that earlier in the interview, that it
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  Speaker 2: was on conservation land, and I assume that is the case,
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  Speaker 2: but I wouldn't be one hundred percent sure it is
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  Speaker 2: conservation that's correct.
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  Speaker 1: So it does seem as though, you know, like from
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  Speaker 1: a real outsider perspective. Obviously I don't, you know, I
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  Speaker 1: don't live in the area. It does seem as though
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  Speaker 1: it's not the best location.
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  Speaker 2: Well, well Tels has picked this location. They might they
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  Speaker 2: might have picked it. I don't know why they picked it.
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  Speaker 2: As I said, we've done this in good faith to
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  Speaker 2: get better communication out in the area. I mean, I'm
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  Speaker 2: sitting here talking to you at Very Springs for three bars, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: with three three bars, and and I do all my
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  Speaker 2: computer work by hot spotting from my telephone to my computer.
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  Speaker 2: And I mean ring we had terrible.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, everybody I think everybody understands that that, you know,
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  Speaker 1: you want to make sure that there's good communication out there,
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  Speaker 1: and I think that on the you know, like certainly,
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  Speaker 1: Tellstra trying their best to make sure that everybody has
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  Speaker 1: got that coverage that they need. But what I'm hearing
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  Speaker 1: quite loudly and clearly from the residents in the area
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  Speaker 1: is that they're seriously worried about where this Telstra tower
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  Speaker 1: has been proposed to go up. I've got other residents
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  Speaker 1: messaging me as we speak, saying that you know it's
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  Speaker 1: not it's not the right location. Are you satisfied with
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  Speaker 1: the consultation that's happened thus far, Doug.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, as I'm sorry, No, I'm not satisfied with the
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  Speaker 2: consultation that Telstra has has. I think that there could
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  Speaker 2: have been a lot better. Now, my understanding is that
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  Speaker 2: there's about forty forty comments that are going to the DADS,
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  Speaker 2: and my understanding is that the d c A will
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  Speaker 2: the Telstra will have to have to.
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  Speaker 3: Right right to eat.
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  Speaker 2: Address, will have to address eat eat comments and the
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  Speaker 2: final decision is the Development and sent Authority. So we're
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  Speaker 2: in that we're basically in the hands of the Development
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  Speaker 2: Center Authority and the Development Content Authority should be able
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  Speaker 2: to able to you know, the planners of all the
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  Speaker 2: planners and a lot of qualified people that should be
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  Speaker 2: able to see whether these comments are valid or not valid.
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  Speaker 2: And I and I do believe that these comments are valid. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I mean I have met with most of them at
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  Speaker 2: that councils and so I'm hoping that we can we
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  Speaker 2: can we can get get get a solution for all people.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. And look, obviously it's got to go through that
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  Speaker 1: development consent to authority, which is part of that process.
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  Speaker 1: And and as part of that process, people do need
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  Speaker 1: to you know, submit submit their objections, and certainly then
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  Speaker 1: obviously Telstra has to communicate with those people. Doug. I mean, really, though,
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  Speaker 1: to you, do you want this tower to go ahead
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  Speaker 1: in its current proposed location.
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  Speaker 2: No, not personally, I don't believe so, But I do
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  Speaker 2: understand that council hands are tide from the resolution that
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  Speaker 2: was passed, that our hands are tided, and we're hoping
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  Speaker 2: that by work and cooperative cooperatively with Telstraft that we
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  Speaker 2: can we can find a preferred position.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Well, Doug, we really actually before I let
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  Speaker 1: you go, someone's just been in contact with us and said,
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  Speaker 1: can you please ask the Litchfield Mere about the progress
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  Speaker 1: of Power Road and why a key road's been closed
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  Speaker 1: for six months nearly now for what seems like poor
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  Speaker 1: management of contractors.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, the contractor and the Senior Staff council are in
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  Speaker 2: meetings to try and resolve the issue of Power Road.
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  Speaker 2: And that's really all I can. All I can say
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  Speaker 2: is that is that it's very it's been a very
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  Speaker 2: disappointing project, and and and and yes, I apologize that
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  Speaker 2: that has not been done done to a better standards. Yes,
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  Speaker 2: well I don't say.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Doug, I appreciate your time this morning. Let's see
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  Speaker 1: where we will see how things progress with this Telstra tower.
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  Speaker 1: Like I said, we've had a lot of people in
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  Speaker 1: contact with us. They're really unhappy with the site that
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  Speaker 1: has been proposed. I know that they've made that pretty
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  Speaker 1: clear to you. Guys at that council meeting at Telstra
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  Speaker 1: have said that they're they're looking at options. They have
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  Speaker 1: said to me that they are looking at other options
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  Speaker 1: and that it's got to go through this process with
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  Speaker 1: the development can cent to authority, as you've also pointed out.
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  Speaker 1: But we'll keep in contact with you because I know
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  Speaker 1: that that a lot of these people are going to
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  Speaker 1: certainly continue to be in contact with me and hoping
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  Speaker 1: for an outcome that you know that is good for
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  Speaker 1: the whole community.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and and and and I just want to
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  Speaker 2: point out that there are other Telster towers that have
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  Speaker 2: been that's very similar. Well, they're not probably similar, but
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  Speaker 2: there are other Tolster towers that have been put on
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  Speaker 2: council's land and we and and there has been no
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  Speaker 2: but but they are I believe they are a lot
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  Speaker 2: further from the house from that from the houses, so
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  Speaker 2: this is not well, it is probably slightly unusual. Uh.
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  Speaker 2: And I mean when we and as as part of
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  Speaker 2: the previous council, we we we did this in good
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  Speaker 2: faith to get Telster to get better communication within the area.
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  Speaker 2: And and and yep, so yep, so we're out there
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  Speaker 2: to try and get the best solution that we can.
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  Speaker 1: Doug, we will no doubt talk to you again very
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  Speaker 1: soon on this issue. I appreciate your time this morning,
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  Speaker 1: right
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  Speaker 2: Yet, Thank you, thank you,