Right to Climb

Some locals around Mt Warning have put together this E-petition to the NSW Parliament to try and save the summit walk. Any support appreciated! Please sign and pass onto your friends! https://www.parliament.nsw. gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition- details.aspx?q=f+ ctI6ql9NAeq3jf4Yd/Cw== For non NSW residents...  https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/queenslanders-want-to-reopen-mt-warning-summit?fbclid=IwAR2ctMNift4WN_57Q1R87x_36JKTKCQAlhYwpUQ3PO6jTwY4LTQeFvOoFUo Reopen Mt Warning (Wollumbin) for everyone to appreciate and enjoy To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly, we request the government reopen the Mount Warning (Wollumbin) Summit track, allowing all Australians and our visitors, to continue appreciating this world class environment and natural attraction. In the words of Marlene Boyd, local area Ngarakwal Nganduwal elder, "How can the public experience the spiritual significance of this land if they do not climb the summit and witness creation?" NPWS website s...

A Facebook page has been created by a group of locals interested in seeing the Mt Warning summit walk re-opened. Lend your support by joining up or liking it.  The more the merrier, so please share with your friends!  A group walk to be planned to celebrate the closed sign being removed! Here's the link to the page....  https://www.facebook.com/groups/427241145015683

 Great article in the Spectator by Tony Letford Sacred sites – a warning to us all We are being misled about indigenous history Tony Letford They are at it again. Another group of First Nations people is trying to close a part of a national park because it is a ‘sacred site’. This time it is Mt Warning,  aka  Wollumbin, on the far north coast of NSW. It is ‘sacred’ to the Bundjalung people and, until recently, attracted over 100,000 visitors annually who took the 8.8-kilometre round-trip to the summit to enjoy the spectacular coastal views. Closing down walking trails around Australia because they impinge on sacred sites is increasingly common. When Uluru was closed down it was national news but the closure of less well-known sites such as St Mary’s Peak in the Flinders Ranges and various parts of the Grampians National Park in Western Victoria is passing almost unnoticed. A recent edition of the ABC programme  Four Corners  dealt with problems in Kakadu where t...

 Great opinion piece in the Courier Mail today by Mike O'Connor... An organisation called Right to Climb operates under the banner “Our Mountains Belong To All Of Us.” It’s right but it’s not just our mountains. Our islands also belong to all of us. Sacred Indigenous sites and landmarks are everyone’s to share Surely it is of greater benefit to enlighten visitors about sacred Indigenous landmarks rather than pressure governments to lock them up, writes Mike O’Connor. That does not seem to be a welcome to country. It is named, auspiciously, Mount Warning and is set to become the latest landmark to be declared off-limits to non-Indigenous people. The extinct volcano, sitting across the NSW border in the Tweed Valley, attracts tens of thousands of people every year who climb its peak to enjoy the sunrise and a view that stretches to the Pacific Ocean. Freedom of Information documents obtained from the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service show it has drawn up hitherto secret plans to close t...

 MT GILLEN BANNED Another nail hammered into the coffin of common sense, logic and reason this week as officials in Alice Springs erected a barbed wire fence to "close" off entry to the informal walking track to the summit of Mt Gillen. The track was mainly used by Alice Springs locals and the occasional well informed tourist. The journey that uplifted the soul and nourished your well-being filling you up with awe and wonder is now banned and those that enjoy an invigorating walk, breath of fresh air and an outstanding view will now be fined for their trouble (if they catch you!).  It's completely insulting to every resident that they are now excluded from their own backyard. Australia is unique in the world in banning Awe and Wonder and the enjoyment of natural places.   RIP MT GILLEN New barbed wire fence near the walking trail to Mt Gillen summit.  No entry allowed to Awe and Wonder.  In more enlightened times: Traditional custodian Charlie Cooper at the...

Freedom of speech missing at GSA crossposted from linkedin I have been a member of the Geological Society of Australia since the mid 1990s but I resigned today after the Society's leadership  once again  censored a letter I had sent to the society's newsletter ( The Australian Geologist - TAG) . This dealt with the pending ban on public access to the summit of Mt Warning in northern NSW, perhaps the largest well-preserved ancient volcanic caldera in the southern hemisphere. The quarterly newsletter is the main avenue members can share geologically relevant issues.  The editorial policy of TAG at the time I sent the letter read as follows: TAG ed policy I gather the policy and TAG itself is currently under review, apparently:  "The review will be managed by eminent (well respected) independent scientists, led by a high-profile member (e.g. one who is a fellow of the AAS)" . I would have thought someone with an open mind and a desire to uphold free speech and scientifi...

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will not investigate the alleged corruption I raised in relation to the management of the Mt Warning National Park. In reply to my complaint (the main points are summarised below) they write ( my bold ): The Commission’s Assessment Panel has considered the allegations and concerns you raised and determined that the Commission will not be investigating this matter. While you have provided information which shows that NPWS has accepted the title claim of the Bundjalung over that of the Ngarakwal/Nganduwal , the information before the Commission does not indicate a reasonable likelihood that the matter might involve corrupt conduct. The ACT  under which ICAC operate defines corruption as follows: (a) any conduct of any person (whether or not a public official) that adversely affects , or that could adversely affect, either directly or indirectly, the honest or impartial exercise of official functions by any public official, any...

"Greetings from the Morning of Australia " The final episode of Peach's Australia in 1975 was titled " The Morning of Australia ". The summit and glorious views from and to Mt Warning were featured. In the opening moments, Bill is seen walking up the last few steps of the track onto a grassy knoll on the summit on what must have been a very quiet day (or perhaps there was heavy use of hairspray!). There are no lookouts as yet and the vegetation is quite sparse in contrast to the current state (see below) where low trees have taken over.  Peach's Australia Broadcast December 9, 1975 Since 1975 the summit has been visited by about 3-4 million visitors. The footage and comparison to the current state of the track demonstrates how little environmental impact those visitors have had. In fact it looks lusher now than it did nearly half a century ago.  The short clip above from the episode obtained from the ABC is published under fair dealing provisions of the cop...

Cross posted from ABC NEWS WATCH  UPDATE SBS REPORT IS WORSE - see below UPDATE 2 ABC error in naming Mt Warning - seel below I  made a press announcement  about the release of documents obtained through FOI/GIPA from the National Parks and Wildlife Service about the closure of the Mt Warning/Wollumbin National Park and its famous summit walk. The documents were posted to my  Right to Climb blog.   On 17 February I was interviewed by ABC North Coast Radio's Bruce MacKenzie about the documents.  I felt it was a good interview I got to talk about the main findings of the release that revealed the following: • A "Final Wollumbin Closure Event" planned for 25 November 2022 and show NPWS have NO intention of re-opening the park to the public before that time. It’s clear the permanent closure has been planned for many years. • Public information released about the safety issues on the Mountain by National Parks has a critical mistake. The Service have claimed...

Some recent appearances in the media: The Echo 16 February 2021 https://www.echo.net.au/2021/02/geologist-says-mt-warning-is-safe-to-climb/ The Echo 18 February 2021 https://www.echo.net.au/2021/02/mt-warning-ban/ Courier Mail 16 February 2021 https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/mt-warning-walking-track-to-be-closed-permanently-under-secret-plans/news-story/3e47b1ee47861c046367d1c8422562db Channel 7 Gold Coast 17 February 2021. The interview was about 10 minutes long but cut down to a few seconds. Sorry the sound is slightly out of sync. ABC North Coast Radio Breakfast Show 18 February 2021. The interview got truncated half way through. We spoke further about the wonderful comments about the summit by Ngaraakwal elder and Mount Warning custodian Marlene Boyd who stated before she died in 2007:   "I do not oppose the public climbing of Mt Warning - how can the public experience the spiritual significance of this land if they do not climb the summit and witness creati...