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Locked out of the sunburnt country

1957 - members of the Petticoat Safari climb Ayers Rock - more enlightened times! Below is a longer version of an essay I wrote that appears in the March 2024 issue of Quadrant Magazine . If you are interested in helping save what was once one of the best family bushwalks in eastern Australia, sign the Reopen Mt Warning Parliamentary petition via the following LINK .  Locked out of the sunburnt country Marc Hendrickx  I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror – The wide brown land for me! -- Dorothea Mackellar Australia’s cultural identity has forever been closely connected with the Australian Landscape. The natural world around us has helped forge our unique Australian spirit from which emerges our sense of humour, creed of mateship, altruism, ingenuity, self-reliance, courage, and resilience in the face of hardship. Despite the fact the vast
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Mt Warning E-Petition

 A new E-Petition has been listed in the NSW Legislative council (NSW Upper House) to reopen Mt Warning.  LINK HERE...  https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lc/pages/epetition-details.aspx?q=mIh4VlYuV3MWXOB3MBXJYQ It's a NSW e-petition so technically available to NSW resident only.  An earlier petition available to resident of other states is available HERE. Note this will have no influence to NSW Parliament but nice to sign regardless.  https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/queenslanders-want-to-reopen-mt-warning-summit The e-petition is limited to a small number of words.  Thanks to Ben Fordham and 2GB for their support of this important public policy issue. Our original version read as follows... To the President and Members of the Legislative Council Introduce legislation to reopen Mt Warning’s famous summit track and establish a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into public access rights in the Wollumbin National Park. The NSW government has plans to hand control of all National Parks in N

Mt Warning - must watch video

 Great video that exposes the issues at Mt Warning in a little over 4 minutes. Thanks to the video maker!

Mt Warning - Libertarian Party call for Parliamentary Inquiry

Parliamentary Inquiry into My Warning. The Hon. John Ruddick MLC, leader of the Libertarian Party in the NSW Legislative Council is calling for a Parliamentary Inquiry into the on-going shambles at Mt Warning.  In a press release (see below) John Ruddick states: "Racially exclusive national parks are an abhorrent and divisive relic that belongs in the past and certainly not in modern Australia."" We fully support this call. Management at Mount Warning is now the type example of how NOT to manage a National Park.  Please lend your support to John Ruddick and the Libertarian Party! Website:  https://www.libertarians.org.au/nsw Full text of press release below:

Happy Australia Day! Mt Warning Australia Day Speech

Photo by Steven Gibbs My Speech 26 January 2024 at Gerald Parker Park Uki. Happy Australia Day! I’m proud to be Australian! I'm proud of what this Country has achieved and represents, and of the Western values of Liberal Democracy that underpin that success. There are dark forces out there that want to see this country fail. Sadly some of these people are the very politicians and bureaucrats we put our faith in to run the country for everyone and not just for large corporations, or groups who see themselves as perpetual victims rather than active citizens. We need to ask ourselves what we can give this great nation rather than what we can take from it. We are all Australians regardless of race, religion or how long we have been here. We need to reinvigorate a sense of national pride as we face an uncertain future in troubling times, or frankly we face extinction.  One of the foundations of our great Australian identity is our interaction with the unique Australian landscape. Our co

Mt Warning 2024 - Best Australia Day ever

Climbing Mt Warning with a large group of like-minded individuals with the company and support of Sturt Boyd, son of Marlene Boyd , followed by a protest rally in Uki with about 200 people, to support reopening the 115 year old summit track to the public. Probably the best Australia Day experience in my life! Some pictures below to mark the occasion. North Coast Locals join Ngarakwal Elder to call for Mt Warning to be Reopened. January 26, 2024 About 200 locals from Uki, Murwillumbah and surrounds answered an invitation from Ngarakwal Elder Sturt Boyd to protest the ongoing closure of Mt Warning. The meeting was held at Gerard Parker Park at Uki on Australia Day. The famous walk to the summit has been closed by NPWS since March 2020 on the basis of claims made about the mountain by the secretive Wollumbin Consultative Group (WCG).  The event was supported by the Save Our Summits Association. SOS president Craig Evans opened the meeting speaking about the importance of access to the nat

Mt Warning on Peta Credlin's Show

 Thanks for Peta Credlin for supporting this fight to reopen Mt Warning! https://www.skynews.com.au/opinion/peta-credlin/a-guide-to-climbing-mount-warning-author-slams-late-1990s-summit-climb-ban/video/810616465676502ab3f221bf9fad6c6c

Glass House FOI - Gotta love the bureaucracy

Glass House FOI - Gotta love the bureaucracy QLD Bureacracy follow the same path as their NSW counterparts in release of documents requested through FOI about potential closure of long established routes in our National Parks. Last July 023 I placed an application under the QLD Right to Information Act 2009 relating to the closure of the Glasshouse Mountains. My initial inquiry requested "Documents, reports and correspondence relating the closure of Mt Beerwah, Mount Tibrogargan and Mount Mt Coonowrin." After some discussion with the FOI officer the terms of reference for my inquiry were altered to the following: "All documents containing consideration by the Government to permanently close any of the Glasshouse Mountains to preserve the cultural heritage of First Nations peoples." After some weeks a response came back (31 August 2023) that there were no documents that met these terms: Letter from QLD Dep Science and Environment - we have nothing for you! I was quit

Australia Day - Reopen Mt Warning and other natural wonders

  Reopen Mt Warning Australia Day celebration Gerald Parker Park, Uki 1.30pm (NSW time) 26 January 2024.  See event page...  https://fb.me/e/gyPPeKaSM Happy Australia Day for the 26th of January! I'm a proud Australian. I'm proud of what this Country has achieved and represents, and of the Western values of Liberal Democracy that underpin that success. There are dark forces out there that want to see this country fail. Sadly some of these people are the very politicians and bureaucrats we put our faith in the run the country for everyone and not just for large corporations, or a few selfish entitled minorities who see themselves as perpetual victims rather than active citizens. We need to ask ourselves what we can give this great nation rather than what we can take from it. We are all Australians regardless of race, religion or how long we have been here. We need to reinvigorate a sense of national pride as we face an uncertain future in troubling times, or we face extinction. 

St Mary's Peak - an early climbing story

St Mary's Peak offers the best views over the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. This outstanding climb remains under threat of closure by the SA government.  St Mary's Peak - image from this Advertiser story The tale below is an early climbing report published in The Pictorial Australian, Monday 1 Feb 1892 . It captures the magic of this natural wonder and helps underpin why it should remain open for the public to enjoy.