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Showing posts from July, 2021

NPWS bureaucrats the real vandals

The Australian edition of the DAILY MAIL reported yesterday that a group of three backpackers climbed Mt Warning and when they got back down they found their car had been vandalised. The Daily Mail story did not dig that deeply into the background and so I sent them the following letter.... Dear Editor, I read with interest your story about backpackers having their car vandalised after climbing Mt Warning in northern News South Wales, Australia.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9824239/Backpackers-car-windows-SMASHED-hiking-sacred-Indigenous-mountain.html You might be interested to know that there is much more to this story if you take a few moments to chase down some facts that NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service officers would rather remain hidden.  The official story in regard to Aboriginal beliefs is that the Bundjalung prefer you not to climb and claim the mountain is a sacred men's area. However, (and it's a big however!) the Bundjalung claims have no basis i

Off to the ombudsman

In February I sent a complaint to the Minister and NPWS directors pointing our gross factual errors, omissions and misrepresentations in NPWS management of the Mt Warning National Park. It was initially ignored by the bureaucrats responsible and it was only after it was reported to the NSW ombudsman that I eventually got a reply. The reply signed by the minister below, does not deal with any of the substance of the complaint and I'm now off to the Ombudsman again in an attempt to get some meaningful answers on this important public issue. A copy of the complaint below along with the Minister's reply (written for hm by NPWS) at the bottom of the page.  Official complaint and Formal request to correct information provided about Mt Warning. SENT Feb 18, 2021, 11:28 AM   SENT 18 February to glenn.storrie, Janelle.brooks, office, premier Dear Premier, Minister, Glenn and Janelle, Cc various media groups.  This is a formal complaint about NPWS management of Wollumbin National Park

Mt Warning closed till November - WTF!

NPWS have very sheepishly updated their Mt Warning information page. They now indicate the Mt Warning Summit Track will remain closed until the end of November 2021. There has been ample time since it was closed last March 2020 for the chain to be replaced and the walk reopened to the public. This is getting beyond ridiculous! May July Now November-WTF! I have updated an earlier letter to Minister Matt Kean asking for an explanation and when I can expect a reply to an official complaint about NPWS mismanagement of the Park I sent in February. In the meantime, if you want to climb to the summit, note the potential for a fine and take care on the trail, it's currently in a poor state thanks to NPWS neglect. Dear Minister, I note NPWS, without consultation, have now put off a decision about Wollumbin National Park and the Mt Warning Summit trail until November 2021. I am still waiting on NPWS to reply to a formal complaint I raised in February.    As indicated in my previous correspon

FOI BOMBSHELL: Part 2 Did minister sign NPWS briefing note authorising shut down of Mt Warning?

FOI BOMBSHELL Part 2: Did the minister sign NPWS briefing note authorising shut down of Mt Warning? On 24 December 2021, I sent a GIPA (FOI) request to NPWS for the following information: Correspondence (emails, reports and other forms) dealing with long term closure of the Mt Warning Summit Walk including a survey report prepared for NSW NPWS covering visitor opinions about walking up Mt Warning. Any other correspondence covering a ban on the Mt Warning Summit Walk across the period indicated (01/01/2017 to 22/12/2020). NPWS GIPA minions released a batch of documents on February 16, 2021. We covered these in our post " FOI BOMBSHELL: PERMANENT BAN ON MT WARNING 25 NOVEMBER 2022 "  A number of documents were completely redacted and I requested an external review of these by the  NSW Information Commissioner. On 11 June 2021, the Information Commissioner recommended a new decision be made regarding documents 3A, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E and 7 by way of internal review. The Informati