Telstra in island tower struggle

THE chair of Tasmania’s Aboriginal Land Council warns the largely indigenous population of Cape Barren Island could be left with a “secondclass” mobile phone service, as his organisation clashes with Telstra over a lease for a new base station.

The base station is the only part of a $10.7 million telecommunications upgrade across the broader Furneaux Group that is still to be completed.

Aboriginal Land Council chair Michael Mansell said Telstra was offering “peanuts” for a 10-year lease on Cape Barren Island to build the tower — the telco having rejected the chance to take a 10 sqm parcel of land for $10,000.

But a Telstra spokesman said the Land Council — which controls most of the island — was seeking a fee “well in excess of market rates” and that it had rejected Telstra’s first two offers since talks began in October.

Mr Mansell said Telstra’s failure to agree to the Land Council’s terms had sparked fears the company would walk away from plans to build the Cape Barren Island tower, having already upgraded four base stations and built three new ones on Flinders Island.

“The result would be that Aboriginal people on Cape Barren who can hardly get any reception now — it is absolutely terrible — will have a second-class service, and the white people on Flinders will have an improved service,” he said.

Telstra’s spokesman said the new base station on Cape Barren had not progressed “only because we have been unable, as yet, to secure a suitable site on reasonable commercial terms”.

The spokesman said Telstra remained committed to building the tower and would begin the development approval and construction “as soon as possible” once a deal with the Land Council could be reached.

Telstra, the Land Council and Flinders Island Council will hold a meeting tomorrow.

Flinders Council acting general manager Heidi Marshall said both Telstra and the council “have been trying to secure a site location for some time on Cape Barren which is acceptable to both parties”.

“There are contracts in place, and we are facilitating to reach an amicable solution for both parties,” she said.