Right to Climb

NPWS have very sheepishly updated their Mt Warning information page. They now indicate the Mt Warning Summit Track will remain closed until the end of November 2021. There has been ample time since it was closed last March 2020 for the chain to be replaced and the walk reopened to the public. This is getting beyond ridiculous! May July Now November-WTF! I have updated an earlier letter to Minister Matt Kean asking for an explanation and when I can expect a reply to an official complaint about NPWS mismanagement of the Park I sent in February. In the meantime, if you want to climb to the summit, note the potential for a fine and take care on the trail, it's currently in a poor state thanks to NPWS neglect. Dear Minister, I note NPWS, without consultation, have now put off a decision about Wollumbin National Park and the Mt Warning Summit trail until November 2021. I am still waiting on NPWS to reply to a formal complaint I raised in February.    As indicated in my previous correspon

FOI BOMBSHELL Part 2: Did the minister sign NPWS briefing note authorising shut down of Mt Warning? On 24 December 2021, I sent a GIPA (FOI) request to NPWS for the following information: Correspondence (emails, reports and other forms) dealing with long term closure of the Mt Warning Summit Walk including a survey report prepared for NSW NPWS covering visitor opinions about walking up Mt Warning. Any other correspondence covering a ban on the Mt Warning Summit Walk across the period indicated (01/01/2017 to 22/12/2020). NPWS GIPA minions released a batch of documents on February 16, 2021. We covered these in our post " FOI BOMBSHELL: PERMANENT BAN ON MT WARNING 25 NOVEMBER 2022 "  A number of documents were completely redacted and I requested an external review of these by the  NSW Information Commissioner. On 11 June 2021, the Information Commissioner recommended a new decision be made regarding documents 3A, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E and 7 by way of internal review. The Informati

As NPWS continues their "review" into the current closure of the park, we have looked at the cost of replacing the posts and chain.  Allowing for stainless steel components posts would be around $300 each installed. 12mm Stainless steel chain around $150 per meter installed. Allowing for 40 posts and 120 m of chain the total price is just: $30,000! This is a small price to pay to ensure the viability of tourism in Northern NSW.  Chain section at Angels Landing in Utah. Bring it back to Mt Warning!

Article in the Courier Mail today by Jeremy Pierce in which a payment option is proposed to help pay for track maintenance thereby negating any issues NPWS have on costs. It's a good read: Link Here and page image below:

The erroneous naming of Mt Warning as "Wollumbin" is at the heart of the current problems with public access. According to Githabul elder Harry Boyd, Mount Warning is not Wollumbin the cloud-catcher and has nothing to do with any warrior king. The whole caldera is Wulambiny Momoli or 'scrub turkey nest', a `djurebil' or increase site where hunting is forbidden so that Brush-turkeys may replenish their numbers. He and his supporters denounced the ‘Bundjalung nation' as a white fiction. 'There is no Bundjalung nation, tribe, people, language, culture, clan, nor horde, No Bundjalung anything.' LINK In this video James McKenzie recount his battle to return the name Wollumbin to its correct location.  

I have had a comment published in the Journal of Ecotourism! The article counters misinformation promulgated by NPWS and the original authors that there is only one Indigenous perspective about the Mt Warning Summit Walk. In fact the TRUE custodians support the public accessing the summit and sadly NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and researchers from Southern Cross University failed to consult properly with them.  Imagine the difference to visitor attitudes if Ngaraakwal Elder Marlene Boyd’s inspirational message "How can the public experience the spiritual significance of this land if they do not climb the summit and witness creation."  were posted at the foot of the walk or perhaps at the summit?  Text appears below. The online version is available via this LINK .  Journal of Ecotourism Comment on ‘To climb or not to climb? Balancing stakeholder priorities at an iconic national park’ by Erica Wilson, Noah Nielsen, Pascal Scherrer, Rodney W. Caldicott, Brent Moyle &a

 As no reply has been received to my complaint sent on February 18. I have lodged a complaint about NPWS mismanagement of the park with the NSW ombudsman.  Progress will be posted here.  Here's the original letter: Dear Premier, Minister, NPWS Northern Region Directors, Cc various media groups.  This is a formal complaint about NPWS management of Wollumbin National Park in northern NSW. Documents obtained through GIPA/FOI reveal serious deficiencies in NPWS management of the park over many many years. It is clear from the documents that NPWS have misled the public and the Minister about safety issues and the true nature of indigenous opinions in the Park, and have actively “demarketed” the park for many years. NPWS have breached the public's trust and should be held to account. The documents reveal the following information: • A "Final Wollumbin Closure Event" is planned by NPWS for 25 November 2022. Documents show NPWS have NO intention of re-opening the park to the

Don't forget to add your name to these petitions to save the awe and wonder experienced from climbing to the summit of Mt Warning.... NSW Parliament e-Petition (NSW Residents) https://www.parliament.nsw. gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition- details.aspx?q=f+ ctI6ql9NAeq3jf4Yd/Cw== For the rest...  https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/queenslanders-want-to-reopen-mt-warning-summit?fbclid=IwAR2ctMNift4WN_57Q1R87x_36JKTKCQAlhYwpUQ3PO6jTwY4LTQeFvOoFUo

New South Wales National Park and Wildlife Service have been falsely claiming the risk of rock falls and landslides to summit track users is "Extreme". As an engineering geologist specialising in landslide risk assessment I found these claims to be ridiculous when I climbed the mountain in January. I have since discovered that NPWS organised a detailed geotechnical assessment of rock fall and landslide risk to summit track users by a leading geotechnical consultant in April 2018. However there is no mention of this report in NPWS information. It seems they are ignoring the findings of their own experts in their description of geotechnical risk on the mountain and they continue to promulgate misinformation and lie to the Minister and Public. I requested a copy of the consultant's report through the government' GIPA system and have now received a copy of the report.  Here's an example of how NPWS continue to report on rock fall and landslide risk on the Mountain, fr