More than 20 local residents raised their concerns over the installation of Smart Meters at a Smart Meter Awareness Forum in Bairnsdale recently. (Related post BAIRNSDALE SMART METER COMMUNITY FORUM)
Residents from Bairnsdale, Maffra and Bruthen came together to ask questions and share concerns.
Coordinators, Maxine Harber and Allannah Nugent, both local people, were delighted with the interest.
“There wasn’t a dull moment. People had a lot of questions,” Ms Harber said.
Ms Harber said the idea to host the forum came about from customers coming into her Bairnsdale store.
“Many people would bring the topic up and unless you know where to look, information can be very hard to find,” she said.
“My friend has been researching the topic for the past year or more and works very closely with the Stop Smart Meter Australia groups, so she was the perfect person to do the speaking.”
The risk of wireless Smart Meters having a negative effect on animals and plants was discussed, as was time of use pricing.
Ms Haber said having a premium cost at the time when most people are at home, having dinner and putting the kids to bed is of great concern, especially with energy costs already so high.
Other concerns raised included security, both personal and physical and the likely-hood of the system being hacked into.
“By far the biggest concern was the health effects. With other countries around the world taking immediate action to slow or halt the application of wireless Smart Meters, they were wondering why our Government wasn’t doing the same,” she said.
Ms Harber said a lady, who shared her story at the meeting, is highly sensitive to electro-magnetic radiation and is fearing having to move from her home should the wireless mesh system for Smart Meters be introduced.
“Her bravery in telling strangers how her life is impacted by wireless transmissions helped many people understand the real personal side to this issue,” she said.
“You see, one of the biggest issues with wireless Smart Meters is that the microwave radiation from one home, mixes with the signals of the other homes around it and the radiation fills the air, with no escape. For someone in her position it means they have to go to extreme measures to protect their health.”
Read the full article via www.eastvicmedia.com.au – Smart Meter concerns raised.
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