Corrina Beacham, Mullumbimby
The federal government’s $9m campaign to ‘re-educate’ us about 5G safety seems to have devolved into rehashing the tired ‘5G dangers are just conspiracy theory’ line, now with the added notion that if you oppose 5G, you believe it causes COVID-19.
No research conclusively proves that 5G and wireless radiation is safe. According to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) ‘the dosimetry (dose absorbed by a human) in the 6GHz to 300GHz range is still developing and further research is required to examine the effects of exposure to new and emerging technologies’.
Even though it was intended to be funny, we don’t find Mandy Nolan’s statements in her recent soapbox at all amusing.
5G may or may never deliver all the extremely-hyped benefits.
Industry marketing tells you we ‘need’ 5G, but it’s not about better connection, it’s about profits.
Smart devices are engineered for addiction.
Wireless services are vastly inferior for transferring large amounts of data. Hardwired connections are so much faster, more secure, and energy efficient. Most importantly, they do not pollute the air with harmful radiation.
Wireless technology consumes huge amounts of energy.
A wireless ‘internet of things’ will be extraordinarily energy consumptive and will vastly grow our dependence on ‘conflict minerals’, which millions of Congolese people suffer and die for in mining them.
An astronomical increase in e-waste will be unavoidable.
If Mandy had accepted my personal invitation to join the discussion in our Facebook group, she would find a plethora of peer reviewed scientific articles. Those ‘YouTube videos’ are presentations by highly qualified doctors and scientists. She would also see there is NO information stating that COVID-19 is caused by 5G. The movement has distanced itself from such claims.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
