NSW Budget Estimates

NSW Budget Estimates - Mt Warning

At NSW Parliament Budget estimates this week Hon John Ruddick MLC used part of his time to question senior bureaucrats from NPWS about the closure of Mt Warning and future of the the summit track.

Hon John Ruddick MLC, Libertarian Party NSW

Of note was an admission by Naomi Stephens (NPWS Executive Director of Park Operations Coastal) that the current "temporary" closure would end on the 31/12/2024. Unfortunately, we did not hear what was going to happen after this date - another extension to the rolling "temporary" closures that have been in place since March 2020, a reopening, or a permanent closure. I have sent a follow up question to Ms Stephens and will post the reply, if it comes.

A lot of the questions by John were "taken on notice" highlighting the lack of knowledge by both the Deputy Secretary, National Parks and Wildlife Service: Atticus Fleming and Ms Stephens. We are waiting to hear the answers.

In April 2024 I sent Atticus Fleming a copy of my book "A guide to climbing Mt Warning" and offered to sit down with him over a coffee and discuss the issues. I did not hear back from him. In Part 2 John asked Dr Fleming if he had received the book and read it. It was interesting to note the reply. The book was not offered as a gift but as an important source of information critical to NPWS understanding of the history of the park and issues regarding access. It was disappointing to learn Dr Fleming fell back on a "Yes Minister" style response and did not take the opportunity to engage with me as a stakeholder in the future of the park. This approach of ignoring key stakeholders typical of NPWS long term mismanagement of the park.

Links below to videos on Youtube.

Part 1

Part 2

Letter sent to Atticus

Signed copy

Comments

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