Report in The Australian by John Ferguson gives some hope that the anti-climb attitude of the divisive Victorian Socialist Labor government is changing. This is a large part due to the efforts of ACAV who have fought the bans from day 1.
Simon Carter sums it up: “They have to declare the Grampians open to rock climbing again,’’ he said. “Otherwise it’s all talk.”
Article text below:
Parks Victoria drops blanket rock climbing bans as hope rises for consensus at sites
5:17PM October 17, 2025
For more than six years Australian rock climbers have been hanging upside down waiting for Parks Victoria to address its bungling of draconian access bans in two of the nation’s chief outdoor adventure destinations, Mt Arapiles and the Grampians.
Now, for the first time, there are signs new Parks Victoria boss Lee Miezis has shelved the hardline approach of his predecessor and is clearing the way for climbing to be largely saved at Arapiles – also known as Dyurrite – and has dumped the blanket-ban policy that enraged outdoor enthusiasts around the world.
Officials familiar with discussions about the future of climbing at Arapiles expect any bans at the site to be less severe than mooted under the old regime last year, although potentially still with some controversy as Parks Victoria weighs any impact on cultural heritage and the environment.
Mr Miezis has embarked on a more nuanced approach compared with predecessor Matthew Jackson, where Parks Victoria was accused of releasing false or misleading information about the impact of climbing at the nearby Grampians, also known as Gariwerd.
It was the Grampians bans, many of which are still in place, that set the scene for the crackdown at Arapiles, which is also world-famous as a climbing destination.
“There is a very different feel,’’ one insider said of the new Parks Victoria leadership. “There is a long way to go but at least things are more positive than they were.”
Mr Miezis recently told Vertical Life magazine: “Blanket bans don’t work – when they’re done to, rather than done with, people.
“We may have to make tough decisions at times, but the key is to be inclusive, transparent and collaborative in making those decisions.’’
Mr Miezis’s comments to the respected climbing magazine are the most conciliatory uttered by Parks Victoria since it banned climbing across large parts of the Grampians in 2019.
They will be viewed as an effective rebuff to the way the bans were first imposed in Victoria on the eve of the pandemic.
Now other states, especially NSW, are examining what sites might be subject to bans as the climbing clampdown focus potentially moves away from Victoria.
The bans at Arapiles were based on concerns about cultural heritage and environment factors, such as damage to plants, and will be addressed in the next management plan covering the park, about 330km northeast of Melbourne.
Parks Victoria is still negotiating heavily with the local Barengi Gadjin Land Council, which represents traditional owners from several different groups, including the Wotjobaluk people.
Until recently, BGLC had limited involvement with public discussions over climbing at Arapiles, amid efforts by Parks Victoria to strike a peace deal while facing an outraged community at Natimuk, which is near Arapiles.
Parks Victoria had initially embarked on a process of stripping out climbing routes at Arapiles and the nearby Grampians National Park as part of a deal with traditional owners, angry at the impact of chalk and bolts used for safety, among other things, and potential harm to cultural heritage.
While the Grampians bans took hold in the pandemic when no one was outside, the government was rocked by the size of the backlash against its plans at Arapiles.
In the Grampians, the Parks Victoria narrative was bolstered by a series of legally unverifiable, anti-climbing claims including that a climbing bolt had been put through art. In fact, it was past government workers who had desecrated the site.
Parks Victoria claimed in briefing papers that Grampians climbers were behind the chainsawing of trees, creation of off-piste fireplaces and other damage that lacked evidence of who had actually done it.
Australian Climbing Association Victoria treasurer Mike Tomkins said the risk of widespread closures was moving to NSW.
“And Victoria is coming to the end of this,’’ he predicted.
Climbing Victoria chairman Mike Rockell said the newly formed Dyurrite Community Working Group was progressing and the consultation process was well under way.
“We are hoping that the next meeting will proceed well,’’ he said.
Climbing photographer Simon Carter said he would not be satisfied until bans were lifted at the Grampians where, he said, large areas were still closed for access.
“They have to declare the Grampians open to rock climbing again,’’ he said. “Otherwise it’s all talk.”
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