Tower fears to be aired

Nelson's anti-cellphone tower campaigners will address a parliamentary select committee next month, as the fight against the towers heats up nationally.

Ban the Tower spokeswoman Sue Grey said the local government and environment select committee had invited the group to make a submission as a result of its 3000-signature petition asking for a ban on towers near schools and houses.

The group took on Telecom this year and succeeded in getting the corporate giant to delay erecting a cellphone tower next to the Atawhai Playcentre until late 2009.

Miss Grey said she and others had done a lot of research on cellphones and cellphone towers, and they remained concerned about the possible health risk from electro-magnetic radiation.

The group was also concerned that legislation now before Parliament would allow telecommunication companies to erect phone masts beside any public road without having to consult the public.

The communications firms plan to put up thousands of transmitters as they roll out their new 3G technology.

Miss Grey said the group wanted the Government to adopt World Health Organisation standards on consultation for new cellphone towers. These required full consultation with communities, and community support before new towers could be erected.

"The Resource Management Act requires people to be involved in the decision-making process and we don't see why cellphone towers should be exempt from that."

The group also wanted the Government to adopt stricter standards for cellphone tower emissions in line with the best international standards.

"What we are looking for is that New Zealand is international best-practice, instead of international worst-practice."

Miss Grey said many countries took a far more precautionary approach to cellphone towers and mobile phones than New Zealand did.

Cellphones in Israel carried a mandatory warning that they were dangerous, she said.

The French government had issued a warning that children shouldn't use mobile phones except in emergencies.

Miss Grey said the Ban the Tower group had been contacted by groups from New Plymouth, Papatoetoe in Auckland and Titahi Bay in Wellington that were also fighting the erection of towers in their communities.