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Showing posts with the label Grampians

Climbing bans in Victoria - cause for some optimism

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 ...

Time travellers guide to forbidden places of awe and wonder

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...

Save our Summits, Access Australia Series Part 1: Arapiles

 Save our Summits, Access Australia Series Part 1: Arapiles Part 1 of a series of webinars looking at access issues across the country.  ACAV president Mike Tomkins provides a run down on the bans to rock climbing at Arapiles and the Grampians.

More lies from Parks Victoria

Save Grampians Climbing reveal more lies from Parks Victoria about the impacts of rock climbers in the Grampians. Documents reveal Parks Victoria are unable to tell the difference between climbing chalk and natural white rock and bird poo stains. Could Parks Victoria mistake natural white rock & bird poo for climbing chalk in their rush to ban climbing? Yes they could. What you are about to read is one of those big moments where the ineptitude of the PV’s assessment process of rock climbing areas is exposed for what it is. A flawed and amateur attempt to quite literally white-wash climbers in the worst possible light whilst shirking any responsibility. Think the “ bolt in art ” fiasco was bad? This is better. Read more at the link below... THE SANDINISTA SCANDAL – WHITE LIES FROM PV

More climbing bans in Victoria

The Australian today reports on more senseless bans to rock climbing areas in Victoria. The bans are destroying a once healthy outdoor industry and will spread to other activities and other areas in Victoria (think skiing, 4wd, bushwalking and camping). The embrace of stone-age belief systems by government agencies is indeed sending us back to the stone age. Visit  https://savegrampiansclimbing.org/  to lend your support. Climb-ban bureaucrats in Victoria keen to extend their reach JOHN FERGUSON The late autumn Wimmera sun bouncing off Mount Arapiles acts as an illusion for Australia’s rock-climbing community. Lost in the sharp light is the gloomy recognition among many that the Victorian government is in the advanced stages of killing off a once-thriving industry in a battle over access, cultural heritage and the environment. As the world has been focused on the pandemic, Parks Victoria has been quietly accelerating its curbs on climbing in the heartland of the pu...

Grampians: Religious Fatwa imposed on climb ban critic

In Australia, we believe we live in a secular state where religion and government are separate. There is a clause in the Commonwealth Constitution that prevents the government from establishing a state religion or imposing religious observance.  Section 116 states: The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.  Victoria has a bill of rights that protects twenty one fundamental human rights including: Right to freedom of movement (section 12)  Right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief (section 14) Right to freedom of expression (section 15) Right to taking part in public life (section 18) Cultural rights (section 19) With this in mind, how did we end up with a religious fatwa being imposed on climbers at Ayers R...

Widespread Climbing Ban in the Grampians Announced

Myth, superstition and petty bureaucracy close access to more of our Natural Wonders.    Rock and Ice Magazine report on the announcement of widespread bans to climbing in the world famous Grampians.  “On Tuesday this week various members of the climbing community, including representatives of the Victorian Climbing Club, Western Victoria Climbing Club and others, met with Parks Victoria [the government body that oversees Grampians National Park]. There we were informed that eight areas in the western Grampians are going to be closed to climbers. In the next two weeks, signs will be put at the closed areas and the closures will be policed with fines.” From the Herald Sun: Popular climbing in Grampians National Park to shut sites over cultural concerns “While we were not given specifics, we can be fairly certain that the areas will primarily be in the Victoria Range and will encompass many of the best crags in the Grampians,” a statement from the group...