Right to Climb

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 John Ferguson 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 Australian Climbing Association (NSW) (ACANSW)   has some dire news regarding access to climbing areas at  Mt Alexandra crag near Mittagon g. Seems the local Wingecarribee Shire Council (WSC), without consultation with any climbing organisation, has enacted closure of Mt Alexandra crag near Mittagong. This despite years of work by  ACANSW consulting with local custodians about access to these amazing climbing areas. Please write to the Hon Mark Banasiak MP (Shooters and Fishers Party NSW) who is chairing the NSW inquiry into public access to public lands in NSW and voice your objections.  His email: mark.banasiak@parliament.nsw.gov.au  Link to  ACANSW post...  https://www.acansw.org.au/index.cfm?module=news&pagemode=indiv&page_id=3122600 Even expensive gates put up blocking access on a public trail (below).  Enough of this nonsense - these places are for ALL to enjoy. What can you do in the meantime?  Call WSC as sugg...

Letter from Hon Andrew Powell MP, QLD Environment Minister regarding access to Glass House Summits and forthcoming review of park management plans.  Public submissions will be required to facilitate this by the Queensland National Parks service. Will post further when this review commences.

Back in May with some assistance from the Uki Historical Society I submitted a nomination for Heritage listing the Mt Warning Summit Track and Lookouts. An excerpt of the nomination appears in italics below.  While I have come to expect very little from our Governments awash as they are with wokeness, I did hold a slim hope that in this case, luck would favour the brave and perhaps for once, a decision would be made on a rational basis. Sadly, it's the usual outcome:  The minutes of the State Heritage Committee: Item 5E – Mt Warning Summit Track and Lookouts Resolution 2025-55 The State Heritage Register Committee: 1. Considers that Mount Warning Summit Track and Lookouts may be of State significance with reference to Aboriginal cultural values, but these values are appropriately protected by an existing Aboriginal Place. Aside from Aboriginal cultural values, the Mount Warning Summit Track and Lookouts may be of State significance for one criterion only. It is not a current p...

Following a debate on public access to public lands that arose out of the successful petition by Tony Crook ( the outsider side podcast ) the NSW Parliament has opened an inquiry into access restrictions on NSW public land. The terms of reference from the NSW parliament website outlined below. Submissions accepted until 1 August 2025. If you give a damn about public access in National Parks, State forests, Crown land etc then pease put in a submission. Terms of Reference: SELECT COMMITTEE ON ACCESS RESTRICTIONS TO PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERWAYS Inquiry into access restrictions to public lands and waterways  TERMS OF REFERENCE  1. That a select committee be established to inquire into and report on access restrictions to public lands and waterways, including but not limited to Aboriginal land, heritage sites, national parks, crown reserves, state forests, crown land, state conservation areas, wilderness areas, conservation areas, water catchment areas, marine parks and aquati...

Time travellers guide to forbidden places of awe and wonder At the invitation of the Victorian Branch of the English Speaking Union   and as part of National Heritage month I gave a presentation " Time travellers guide to forbidden places of awe and wonder in Australia"  at the ESU Victorian offices on May 2, 2025. The talk provided a historical, mythbusting perspective to recent closures of bushwalking and climbing sites in Australia, including the Grampians, Mount Arapiles, Ayers Rock and Mount Warning. The closure of public access to landscapes of awe and wonder in Australia has been wracked with controversy. Summit access at Ayers Rock and Mount Warning has been banned without due acknowledgement of the wonderful history of climbing at both locations. This approach is also apparent in the bans on rock climbing at the Grampians and Mount Arapiles in western Victoria. In line with the heritage month theme of "unearthed" history the presentation provided evidence f...

  Mt Warning: 5 years of lies and government ineptitude When Mt Warning was first closed temporarily due to fears walkers could catch covid at its blustery clean air summit my youngest daughter was starting high school. She's now in the middle of her HSC. My older daughter has nearly completed a university degree. This ridiculous "temporary" closure based on lies, ignorance and falsehoods marks it's 5 year anniversary today, with no end in sight and what appears to be a low likelihood of a common sense resolution. The temporary closure is extended to the end of 2025 as government officials and the Environment Minister Penny Sharpe move at a snail's pace to make a decision. NSW NPWS tossed out years of its own anthropological research that conclusively demonstrated there were no Aboriginal concerns about public access to the summit. The views of the recognised guardian of the mountain, Millie Boyd, tossed under the bus by NPWS for a false cultural tale that was cal...

The spiritual home for motorsport in Australia, Mt Panorama in Bathurst, is the latest place to be under attack from the irrational demands of aboriginal groups.  Ben Fordham 2GB...  "is someone taking the piss here"  The report below from The Australian: Link to article Indigenous sacred status bid for iconic Mount Panorama site James Dowling The fringe Indigenous group that brought down the billion-dollar Blayney mine project has laid the groundwork for an unprecedented legal bid to declare the peak of Mount Panorama, overlooking Australia’s iconic motor racing circuit, a sacred site, after one of its former members’ ashes were scattered there. The Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation, which launched a successful last-minute effort to scupper the goldmine last year, has sought to register the peak as a state heritage site, after it held a smoking ceremony and scattered the ashes of former member Uncle Brian Grant there in late 2022. McPhillam...

Budget estimates - hot air from Minister on Mt Warning and NP handovers Hansard extract Budget Estimates 3 March 2025 NSW budget estimates are currently on. Hon John Ruddick, Libertarian Party MLC, has asked some searching questions of Minister Penny Sharpe in relation to Mt Warning and handover of NSW National Parks to aboriginal groups.  Relevant Hansard below - can be access via this LINK  (will open Hansard PDF file).  On both issues no firm answers from the Minister to any questions and no commitment to reopen the  Mt Warning summit to the public. Mt Warning has been closed for nearly 5 years - half a decade of intransigence on the part of both the previous Liberal Government and current Labor government that still has the mountain and lives of the surrounding community in limbo.  Clear message is that a vote for the Libertarians, and their greater success, is the only way this will reach a satisfactory conclusion.  Thankyou John Ruddick MLC for your c...