Questions are still surfacing over the validity of the planning application process for 60 Watsons road Glen Waverley 3150 after a Telstra employee informed us that they have not been notified of the proposal which may effect the phone booth at this adderss, same goes for the Ausposts street posting box at the same location.

The VCAT hearing in relation to the proposed development at this site does not make any references to the phone booth or post box and the illustration of the proposed development does not show the phone booth or post box.

It's up for debate if it's the applicants or councils responsibility to make the phone booth known in the application or if the VCAT member has any obligation to a community to find out whats going on around a site.

In 1977 a man who lives down Cooper avenue led a campaign to have the phone booth installed at the milk bar and the Federal Telecommunications minister Toney Staley at the time granted the community wish.
Now in 2021 even with wide spread mobile phone ownership many community members including from the schools across the road see the phone booth as being an important thing to have in the area.
Mobile ownership for children 6-13 is around 33% and its beleived that mobile ownership for people above 70 is under 80%, people on lower or no incomes may not have a mobile or credit so pay phones are still important for these demographics in general.

Even amongst mobile owners in the area there is a common view that the phone booth is important with comments like:

• As a parent its vital that my kids have an option to use a phone in the school area.
• Sometimes my battery is dead so i have to use it after school to call my mum.
• It's good to have it there for the children and elderly.
• Need to have a few in each suburn incase of some type of emergency including escaping family violence.
• Can access counselling services.
• They should be upgrade to have defibrillators and internet maps.
• Can create a more resilient communications system in the event of a natural disaster like a solar flare which can disrupt radio communications.

Despite what the top end of town may think or do, these utilities are valued by locals and the disregard for the democratic process around  removing or relocating a phone booth or post box is clear as it appears that excluding these utilities in the application process is done to give the community no option other than to obey property developers.

Please sign and share the petition, its not over yet.